


Violet Transformation

by NyteXade



Series: Zarkon's Greatest Soldier [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: :), Galra!Keith, Gen, Sequel to Connection, Slow Transformation, galra keith fic, i can be sadistic to my characters, just a warning, lots of pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-09-13 06:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 33,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9111214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyteXade/pseuds/NyteXade
Summary: Sequel to Connection. After coming out of the healing pod, odd things begin happening slowly to Keith. He chooses to keep it from the others in the Castle at first. How long can he keep it hidden and what in the world is happening to him? Galra!Keith fic.  (Rated T just in case. May change to M later).





	1. It's Obvious

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a sequel to my Connection story. If you haven't read it, it would probably be good to read it before this. For those who have read it, I got this up quicker than I thought but I'm really excited to write it! Hope you enjoy the first chapter.

Violet. Violet eyes. Not an eye color that any normal human would typically have without contacts. No one ever asked him about them or ever said anything. He never really thought much of it himself, to be honest, just assumed it was a mutation of some sort. He has just gotten so used to it and not thought much into it that it just hasn't crossed his mind to get it checked out.

* * *

He had a mysterious dagger, unsure of where it came from, but has been with him for as long as he can remember. The handle had been wrapped since he got it. He's left it like that, not wanting to know what is underneath. The only thing he could see beneath the covering was some violet coloring. Violet, that color again. It seems to keep coming up.

* * *

After dropping out of the Garrison, he stayed in a little shack in the desert. He felt drawn there. He began having these feelings like something important was nearby, that he had to search. What for? He didn't know, but he investigated anyway. Eventually he found an area in the desert of large rock formations and winding caves full of markings of a blue lion. These _feelings_ that led to the beginning of Voltron… that helped him find his friend- _brother-_ after missing for a year… he still isn't sure where they came from.

* * *

In the Castle of Lions, Allura had mentioned how the red lion is supposed to be the most difficult to master. It is faster and more agile and needs a pilot of instinct. Was that truly him? Does he have what it takes to master the most difficult of the lions? Then he finds out that the red lion is aboard a Galra ship. Why was it there? How did it end up there?

* * *

He approached Red and placed a hand on the particle barrier but nothing happened. Frustration built up inside of him at not being able to reach his lion. Was there something wrong with him? Before he could think further on it, he was attacked from behind by some Galra centuries. Violet lasers racing past him. Violet. He rushed forward attacking the robots until his shield broke and he fell backwards. It wasn't until he, himself had been knocked through the airlock, trying to protect Red, that the lion decided to trust him. Why did he have to be tested in the first place? Did he do something wrong?

* * *

After forming Voltron for the first time, it turns out that he creates the right arm of Voltron, the same arm which his leader and friend had had replaced with Galra tech. Unsure of whether that is meant to signify something, he never really thought much of it.

* * *

While chasing after the bounty hunters who had stolen Blue, he was the one chosen to fly through the asteroid field. He accepted it without a second thought only to help his friend. But, even after second-guessing himself before and feeling like something was wrong, he was able to navigate that field with ease. It was easier than it should have been.

* * *

They infiltrated the Galra base inside the Balmera. He and the blue paladin had to find a way to close the hangar doors. No matter what was tried nothing worked until he placed his hand on the Galra handprint. Why had it worked for him? Why, when their leader needed a Galra tech arm to access anything Galra?

* * *

He found the stock of the Galra's quintessence. A druid was currently working her magic. After grabbing a cylinder to try and take it back to Voltron, the druid had attacked. He fought the best he could but her magic wasn't something to be fought against with a sword. After being shot backwards by some violet lightning… violet again… his hand began to burn. When he looked at it, it was covered in… violet… blotches. He called for an extraction from Pidge. The quintessence that later spilled on him, seemed to heal his hand. After that, he chose not to say anything to the others.

* * *

The one thing that keeps echoing through his head – _'You fight like a Galra soldier.'_ – he can't seem to forget about. He was fighting the king of the Galra, the one who has lived for over 10,000 years, slowly taking over the entire galaxy. He wanted to end this war no matter what it took, even if he had to sacrifice himself. _Victory or death_. No! That wasn't him… was it?

All these signs seem obvious to someone watching from the outside. There were many, some being undeniable. To Keith and the rest of Team Voltron, however, none seemed to notice that anything was out of the ordinary with their Red Paladin.

* * *

Keith's eyes finally opened after being in the healing pod for… who knows how long. Unlike when Lance was in the healing pod, there was no one waiting for him when he woke up. When the pod opened, he fell forward and to his knees, legs weak from disuse. He looked around. All the lights were off. It must be the middle of the night, or, at least, the time that they had set to night. It's hard to tell night from day in space. Everyone must be in bed. He checked over himself. He seemed okay. No marks or injuries to be found. Even his broken leg and ribs had been healed.

"Keith?!"

Keith looked up to find his adoptive brother, friend, and leader standing just inside the door to the healing room. He smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there it is. The first chapter to Violet Transformation. Let me know what you think. Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	2. Fully Healed... Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "H-how long was I in there?" Keith's voice was raspy from lack of use.  
> "Almost a week. That last attack from Haggar really messed you up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the first chapter was enjoyed. I know there wasn't much of the actual story to it. It was more of the set up for the story.

"No, no, no. Hunk's is more like a cannon. A hand held cannon."

"No, Lance, it's a tank gun."

"Actually, I like Pidge's description better."

"Hunk you traitor!"

"Well, it sounds better than yours. It's just a laser gun."

"I prefer the term _blaster_."

Shiro and Keith had just walked into the common room to find Lance, Hunk, and Pidge arguing about something. "What are you guys talking about?" Shiro finally asked.

"We are comparing weapon names." Lance points to Keith. "See, you have the classic sword and shield. Hunk has a _cannon_ ," he glares at Pidge then points to himself, "and I have a blaster."

"Yea, see, we haven't really come up with a name for Pidge's weapon yet." Hunk held up Pidge's green bayard.

"It's a spade," Keith said it like it was so obvious. The other three just stared at him.

"Well, it's also a grappling hook." Pidge smiled proudly.

"Ok, what about mine?" Shiro held up his artificial right arm.

"Ha! That's the ultimate bitch slap!" Lance never missed a beat.

Shiro laughed.

* * *

_Most everyone was asleep when Keith woke up from the healing pod, but not Shiro. He refused to leave the healing room, except to get food, which is what he was doing when Keith did finally wake. He had walked in just in time to see Keith fall to his knees. In slight shock at first, all Shiro could do was call out his name. He saw Keith look up and smile at him. Shiro dropped the plate of green goo he was holding and ran to his friend's side. He helped him up and into a nearby chair._

_"_ _H-how long was I in there?" Keith's voice was raspy from lack of use._

_"_ _Almost a week. That last attack from Haggar really messed you up." Shiro decided it best not to tell him what he looked like before going into the healing pod. He looked back to normal now anyway, so it didn't matter now… right?_

_"_ _A week?!" Keith shot up but with shaky legs, fell right back down into the chair._

_"_ _Careful. Coran said it would take a while for you to regain your strength after being in there for so long."_

_"_ _How are Lance and Pidge?"_

_Shiro was puzzled at first. Oh, right, they were both unconscious when Keith was attacked. "They are both fine. They woke up not long after we got back to the castle."_

_Keith looked relieved. "What about the ship and the witch?"_

_"_ _The ship was destroyed thanks to your particle cannon, but… the druid got away."_

_The growl that escaped Keith was almost animalistic and Shiro could swear he saw his eyes flash yellow. No, it was just the light… it had to be._

_"_ _Come on. You can head to bed for now. The others will be happy to see you in the morning." Shiro helped him up and to his room._

Only about a week has passed since then.

* * *

"No, way. Mine is the smallest, therefore it is the fastest." Pidge waved a hand to emphasize her point.

"No, mine is way cooler, so it has to be the fastest." Lance had both hands on his hips proudly.

"What kind of logic is that?" Keith was ready to prove them both wrong. "Allura said that our lions mirror our quintessence, whatever that means. So whoever wins in a race on foot, will probably win in their lions too."

"Alright! Let's race!" Lance jumped up and pumped a fist in the air.

Pidge jumped up too, ready for the race.

Shiro and Hunk shrugged but followed the others out to the training room.

Pidge, Keith, and Lance lined up at one end of the room. Allura and Coran had heard about the races and decided to join them. Hunk stood in front of them while Shiro stood at the other end marking the finish line. Hunk held up a small flag.

"On your marks! Get set!" He dropped the flag down. "Go!"

All three of them kicked off as hard as they could but Keith was already halfway across the large room before any of them blinked. He finished the race while the other two were only about halfway. They both came to a halt and just stared at Keith, who also seemed to be a bit surprised.

"How the _hell_ did you do that?" Lance all but yelled in shock.

"I-" Keith paused, staring down at his hands. He quickly regained his composure and put on a fake smile to hide his own shock. "I'm just faster than you. Time to race our lions now. See if you can beat me out there."

"Ha! You're on, mullet! Blue will definitely beat Red."

"I think I'll sit this one out. I was gonna come in last anyway." Pidge smiled.

* * *

A few moments later and everyone was outside. Keith and Lance were inside their lions as well as Hunk. Shiro, Pidge, Allura and Coran watched the ordeal on the video coms inside the Castle.

Hunk called over the coms, "First one to that asteroid," Yellow motioned a paw to an asteroid a few miles away, "and back wins the race." Yellow raised her tail. "On your marks! Get set!" Her tail swished downward, "Go!"

The two lions' jets roared to life and they sped across space towards the targeted asteroid. Red was able to make it back to the castle before Blue even made it to the asteroid. The three of them headed back to the castle and landed in the Hangar where the other four were waiting for them.

"That was a good race paladins!" Coran congratulated. "But as Allura said before, Red is the fastest of the lions," He laughed, "It was a good effort on your part, though."

Lance just crossed his arms in a pout. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Hunk handing some of his space root to both Shiro and Pidge. Hunk discovered this space root on a small planet. It is the closest thing they have found to taste like beef jerky back on Earth. "Wait! You guys made a bet?!"

"Of course." Pidge grinned.

"We've gotta get some entertainment out of this," Shiro said before taking a bite of the root he had just won.

"Yea, and Hunk was the only one who bet on you." Pidge's grin started to look more mischievous.

Lance just glared at her.

"Alright paladins. Today was fun but I think we all need our rest." Allura gestured to the door.

They all took the hint and headed to their rooms.

At the moment, Keith felt like he could run a marathon and not get tired. He wasn't sure where all this energy had come from. He couldn't even try to sleep at the moment. He began removing his armor and noticed something odd. The tips of his fingers had a slight purple coloring, just far enough up that it surround his fingernails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am having a lot of fun writing this story and am very excited to continue! I hope all of y'all are as excited as I am! Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	3. Violet Spreading

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith turned and a deep growl escaped his throat. He thrust a punch forward but his hand pierced straight through the robot.

Keith stared at his hands for a moment. He went to his bathroom to try and wash his hands. When he looked in the mirror, he saw more purple just at the edge of his hairline. He started to panic. Upon further investigation, he found that the violet traced his whole hairline but spread a bit further at the base of his neck. It also showed up at the tips of his toes just like his fingers.

“What the hell is happening to me?” He took a deep breath to calm down. He finished removing his armor and decided to just take a warm shower. The water washed over his tense muscles. He closed his eyes feeling the warmth and began to relax. After a long shower, he didn’t even bother to wipe the steam form the mirror. Deciding to deal with whatever in the morning, he just dried off and headed to bed, finally feeling tired after that shower.

* * *

“Why isn’t it coming off?!” Keith growled to himself the next morning in the bathroom. He has been scrubbing at his hands for almost thirty minutes and nothing has changed. His hands were beginning to feel raw. Dropping the sponge he was using, he sighed in anger, unsure of what else to do or what was even happening. Deciding it was best not to worry his teammates, he put on some gloves, but not his usual fingerless kind. He’s got his boots to cover his feet and his hair pretty much covers what’s on his face. He looks in the mirror one last time. Deciding that it is safe, he leaves his room to meet the others for breakfast.

* * *

“I’m just saying that maaaybe we should start looking for more Earth-similar foods like Hunk’s space root.” Lance was swinging a spork of food goo while talking.

“Yea, and if you keep talking with your hands, you’ll end up wearing the food we have.” Shiro pointed at the goo about to drip off his spork.

Lance looked at it, shrugged, and stuck it in his mouth.

“Where is Keith anyway?” Hunk changed the subject.

“Yea, it’s odd that he would be the last one up,” Pidge agreed, “Usually he’s the first.”

“Ah, there you are Keith.” Coran saw Keith tiredly walk in. He walked into the Kitchen to get another plate of food for him.

“Mornin’ guys.” Keith took the plate form Coran and sat down next to Allura.

“Are you feeling alright?” Allura was looking at him intently.

Keith’s eyes widened. “Yea, I-I’m fine. Why do you ask?” He absentmindedly brushed his bangs forward to hide any violet that might be showing.

“I’m not sure. You just seem like something is wrong.”

“Hey! Maybe some training will cheer you up!” Lance suggested.

“Yea, that usually works.” Hunk approved.

“That’s a good idea paladins. You need a day of training anyway. As for me and Allura, we need to run the daily diagnostics on the castle. So you guys head up to the training deck.” Coran and Allura said good day and headed off.

* * *

“Alright, we will team up in pairs.” Shiro led the others into the training room. “Lance and Keith will pair up and Pidge and Hunk. I will watch for now and give notes.”

“Alright then us first!” Pidge was jumping and raising her hand.

Shiro shrugged and smiled. He waved them in and he, Lance, and Keith headed up the observation deck. “Begin training level two.” Shiro gave the voice command and two training robots appeared in the room below.

They both jumped into the fight showing extreme teamwork. Pidge shot her grappling hook around one of the robots and threw it into the air. While Hunk aimed and shot at that one, she turned and slashed at the second robot. Their session didn’t last long and they started a level three which went in a similar way. Later they walked into the observation deck looking plenty proud of themselves.

“Alright Keith, it’s our turn to show them up!” Lance bounded happily down to the training room.

Keith followed after, a bit slower. He was just happy they were in their armor and helmet; no chance of any purple showing.

They both stood in the middle of the room with their backs to each other, ready for the robots. The level two training went by fairly easily for the two of them. Level three has started. Keith landed a strong kick to one of the robots sending it flying. Just as one was about to attack the red paladin from behind, Lance shot at it. That one went off in the opposite direction. Keith gave a small smile of thanks. They both turned and face the first robot who was now back on it’s feet and advancing on them. Just as Lance was about to shoot it, the second robot attacked him from behind. Lance was knocked forward. Keith turned and a deep growl escaped his throat. He thrust a punch forward but his hand pierced straight through the robot. It fell backwards with sparks flying out of the hole in its chest.

“Keith?”

Keith turned at the quiet call of his name. He stood frozen staring at his friend who looked… scared? He looked down at his hand; he was holding a large chunk of metal and wires.

“How did you do that?!” Pidge and the others had just arrived from the observation deck. “That was awesome!”

“I-I… uhh… I don’t know. Adrenaline, I guess.” Keith dropped what was in his hands. It and the other two robots shimmered and disappeared.

“Well I think that was a good session for today.” Shiro place his left hand on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith suddenly squeezed his eyes shut slightly and reached a hand to his head.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asked.

Keith looked at him with a minor expression of pain. “Yea I just suddenly got a headache.”

Shiro looked sympathetic. “It’s probably because you overexerted yourself. Why don’t we do something more fun to relax?”

“Hey! I built a large Jenga tower!” Hunk was bouncing on his toes.

“That sounds good.” Shiro smiled.

* * *

“Oh… ooh… oohhh…Ha!” Hunk had just successfully pulled out a wooden block and placed it on top of the tower. The tower itself was about as tall as Pidge.

“Dang! I was hoping it would fall there.” Pidge crossed her arms. “Your turn, Lance.”

Lance had a hand to his chin in deep thought. He carefully observed the tower. Tapping a different block every now and then. When he finally found the one he wanted he pushed it carefully on one side until it was far enough out on the other for him to grab. He walked around to the other side and began pulling at it. He could hear pidge whispering _‘fall, fall, fall,’_ over and over. The tower started tipping but he kept going. Finally, as soon as it was released from the tower, the whole thing fell over causing Lance to back up into Keith. They both fell backwards and Lance ended up on top of him. They both blushed. The other three burst out laughing. Lance and Keith stood up.

“S-sorry. I was tryi-” Lance stared at Keith for a moment. “Are you… Your blush looks… purple.”

The other three hadn’t heard him but Keith’s eyes widened. He covered his face with one hand and ran out to his bedroom, ignoring the protests of his friends. He locked the door behind him and looked in his mirror; he was, indeed, blushing purple. After he calmed himself down, the blush went away. _Great now I have to avoid getting embarrassed._ He checked the other spots again. The violet around his fingers had spread to his wrists; around his toes had spread half way up his calves. The only place it seemed to spread on his head was at the base of his neck. It started spreading downward along his spine. He was frozen in front of his mirror, internally panicking. The knocking at his bedroom door was muffled and barely heard. The sounds from his friends didn’t reach his ears; he felt like he was underwater with everything being muted and blurred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have gotten so many Kudos! Thanks!! I hope the story is being enjoyed! Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	4. Time to Push

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins and Alteans decide to confront Keith about his odd behavior.

Ever since he got that headache in the training room a couple days ago, it hasn't ever stopped. It's just been a constant pain in his head. The others haven't asked him much about why he locked himself in his room that day. They didn't want to push him into it per Shiro's suggestion. He figured Keith would tell them when he felt comfortable. They have also noticed that he has been spending more time alone lately, usually in the training room or just locked in his bedroom. Currently the four paladins, Allura and Coran were eating dinner; Keith was letting out some frustration with training.

"What do you think has been wrong with him lately?" Allura broke the silence that hung over the six of them.

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to push him into telling us." Shiro looked at the others.

"Yea, with him that may make him _less_ likely to tell us," Hunk agreed.

"It'll probably push him further away." Lance took a bit of his goo. "Maybe it's that time of month." He spoke with a full mouth and smiled.

Pidge glared at him. "I take offense to that."

Coran and Allura had no idea what they were talking about.

"Guys." Shiro got their attention. "We just need to give him space. He will talk to us when he is ready."

* * *

He had a million thoughts and questions racing through his head. He was already on level three training and taking out all of his confusion and anger on the two robots attacking him. This was the third pair of robots to be used for this level. The first two had been ripped to shreds with a greater amount of force than Keith knew he had. The headache was still there and he wasn't sure why. Most of the pain seemed to be on the sides of his head, around his ears; he tried his best to ignore it. He just wasn't sure what was happening. A small voice at the back of his mind told him that he already knew, but he denies that that could ever be a possibility... can it? He felt a forceful blow to his back and realized he hadn't been paying attention to the fight. After quickly regaining his balance, he spun around and brought his sword down and slashed the robot in half. Then he turned on the other one in the room and thrust his sword forward through its midsection. They both shimmered and disappeared. Without even stopping to catch his breath, he called to begin level four. Three more robots shimmered into existence. He jumped right into the fight with speed and agility most humans could only dream of. He pushed himself. He pushed himself further than he ever had. He kept fighting until he was too tired to think of anything that was happening. One robot now lay on the ground with its head across the room, another was torn to shreds, and the last was smashed into a wall. All three disappeared. Keith collapsed to his knees out of exhaustion, panting hard.

"Keith, what are you doing?!" Shiro had just walked in with the others following behind. He had seen Keith collapse and ran to him. "You can't exhaust yourself like this!"

Keith stood up before Shiro could even try to offer any help. "I'm going to bed," was all he said as he tiredly walked past everyone and left. As soon as Keith got to his room, it took less than five minutes for him to remove his armor, drop onto his bed, and fall asleep.

Shiro just stared at the others as thought asking for thoughts.

Lance just shrugged.

"There is definitely something wrong," Pidge offered. "This just isn't healthy."

"Maybe it _is_ time we push him a bit." Hunk shrugged, not knowing what else they can do. They have given him space since he started acting strangely and it just seems to be getting worse.

"You're probably right." Shiro sighed.

"There is only so much you can do until you just have to confront someone." Coran placed a comforting hand on Shiro's shoulder.

"Yes, Hunk is right. It's probably time you talk to Keith, but best wait for tomorrow. He definitely needs his rest after seeing him like that." Allura offered her help and suggested they all get rest.

"Thanks, Princess." Shiro added tiredly as they all headed off to their bedrooms.

* * *

When he woke the next morning, Keith just lay in bed staring at the ceiling for… he's not even sure how long he has been awake, but it was better than facing the others… or worse, himself. He didn't want to know how far the purple has spread since his exhaustive training yesterday. He looked at the time (which had been set to Earth hours) and it read half past nine. _Guess I should at least make it to breakfast._ With some reluctance, he finally stood and headed for the bathroom. He was shocked at what he saw. The purple was now at his knees and elbows as well as lining his spine. It also spread over his ears and… wait… his ears? They were… pointed? His ears were slightly pointed like an elf. He couldn't believe his eyes. His headache was still there too and the pain still seemed to concentrate at the base of his ears. Keith stumbled backwards until he hit the wall behind him. _I'm not gonna be able to keep this hidden much longer._ He stared at his violet hands. _Maybe I should tell them at breakfast._ His hands clenched into fists. _But what will they think? They might hate me._ His internal argument came to a halt when he heard a knock at his door.

"Keith? Hey, buddy, are you awake?" It was Lance. "Well, we've got breakfast ready and we are all hoping you will join us." He waited a few moments for a response then walked away.

Keith was gripping the sides of the sink and didn't realize what he was doing until he heard a crack. He looked down and immediately let go. _I guess now is as good a time as any_. He dropped his hands to his side and stared into the mirror, not wanting to face the others. When he finally felt ready… or as ready as he could be, he turned and left his room heading to breakfast.

* * *

When he arrived, everyone else was already there, chatting and eating. Once they all saw Keith, the room went silent except for a few greetings. Keith sat down and began making his plate. After a few moments of silence he finally looked up.

"We need to talk." Keith and Shiro both spoke simultaneously.

"Oh, uh, you go first, Keith."

"N-no. Mine can wait. You go ahead."

Shiro looked around at the others, who just shrugged. "Ok, well, we know that something has been wrong with you"

"And we have been trying to give you your space," Hunk added.

"We knew that if we pushed, then we would just push you further." Lance joined in.

"But, it only seems to be getting worse anyway." Pidge spoke up.

"So, now is the time we start pushing," Shiro continued.

"Please understand, Keith, that this is just because we are worried about you." Allura reasoned.

Coran finally ended the subject, "So please talk to us and tell us what's going on."

It went silent again. Keith looked around and everyone's eyes were fixed on him. He could feel tears threaten to fall. "Guys, I-" He stopped. He wanted to tell them but couldn't find the right words. He finally settled with the truth. "I don't know what's happening to me." The others looked around, all equally confused.

"Just tell us as much as you can and we can do our best to help you," Shiro encouraged. When he saw what looked like fear on Keith's face, he spoke again quietly. "Are you afraid of something?"

Keith nodded his head.

"What are you afraid of?" Lance looked confused. What could possibly be so bad that _Keith Kogone_ is scared?

"I'm afraid that what's happening will change how you guys see me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they finally decided to push. Keith should feel better getting that off his chest… hopefully. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	5. Acceptance by Group

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith reveals the changes that have been happening to him but receives the reaction he fears most.

Keith sat for a moment expecting some kind of response. None came, probably mostly out of confusion, so Keith continued. "Things have been… happening to me. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but now I have my suspicions. I've been," he paused and looked down, avoiding eye contact with the others, "changing." Before anyone could ask how, Keith stood up. He took off his gloves and revealed violet arms up to his elbows, his fingers starting to look more like claws. Shiro stood up but made no other move. The others just stared, speechless. Keith then pulled back his hair into a short ponytail. There were a few audible gasps at the sight of his violet, slightly pointed ears. He continued, taking off his shirt and revealing his purple spinal line. "My feet are the same as my arms," he stated simply. He finally looked up at the others. The fearful expressions on their faces only confirmed his own fears. He stumbled back a bit at their expressions. He looked at Shiro, the one he'd known the longest and always told every secret to. Shiro's arm began to glow. Keith's eyes widened and he backed up in a panic.

Shiro looked down at his arm. His eyes also widened. "Keith, no. Wait." He concentrated on powering down his arm but it was too late. Keith had turned and ran off.

"Keith!"

"KEITH!"

Everyone called after him in vain then followed him.

* * *

Keith ran off to his lion's hangar. An alarming growl echoed in Keith's mind; Red could feel her paladin's fear and panic.

"Keith wait!" Shiro and the others arrived shortly after him. Before they could get close to him, Red moved between her paladin and the others and let out a roar. Shiro stopped, startled.

"Why is she roaring at _us_?" Lance questioned.

"Her job is to protect her paladin and right now he is afraid and panicking." Allura gestured for the others to halt and back up a bit.

"She is just feeling his emotions right now and has gone into protective mode," Coran added.

"This is ridiculous. We are perfectly okay with Keith. Right Shiro?" Lance looked at Shiro for support and agreement.

Shiro remained silent.

"Shiro…" Hunk watched his leader.

Shiro was seemingly deep in thought. "R-right," he said after a moment. "We just need to… talk and understand the situation."

Red crouched her front half low not even giving Keith a chance to talk for himself. She growled. Keith sat down behind one of her rear paws, out of sight from the others. He just stared at the violet skin covering his arms.

"Keith…" Shiro began, unsure of what to say, "I-I'm sorry for how I reacted at breakfast. It just," he paused, looking at the ground, "it just brought back some bad memories."

Keith looked up at the wall in front of him, listening intently to Shiro's words.

"We can figure this out together." Lance didn't like seeing his friend, the one who was supposed to be fearless, the best fighter pilot at the Garrison, looking so… scared.

Pidge didn't really know what to say or do. She stood beside Shiro grabbing his arm, feeling much like a small child wanting her big brother.

"You don't have to solve everything on your own." Hunk added, trying to convince his friend to trust them.

They all waited to see what Keith was going to do. Keith stood up and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He hadn't noticed, till he removed his gloves at breakfast, that his fingers were more like claws. His headache still hadn't gone away; if anything, it had gotten worse. He slowly moved out from behind Red's back paw. He patted Red to calm her down. She quieted down and lowered further until she was laying. She watched her paladin move in front of her.

Once he was in front, Pidge ran to him. She stopped about 5 feet from him. "Keith?"

Keith held out his hands. "Pidge, I-I'm sorry. I-"

Pidge stared at his clawed, violet hands.

He saw what she was looking at and he shoved his hands back into his pockets, taking a step back. "Pidge…"

She rushed forward and gave him a hug. "Red still trusts you. If you were truly a…" no one had said it yet, so should she say it? "A _Galra_ , then Red wouldn't trust or protect you. So, I trust you too."

Allura and Coran smiled at each other. Lance and Hunk also moved forward, comforting and reassuring him the best they could. After a moment they noticed Keith looking straight past them and at Shiro who hung back. Keith stepped forward slowly. "Shiro?"

"Keith." Shiro walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. He squeezed slightly and smiled at him.

Keith smiled back. Suddenly, he reached his hands to his head, squeezing his eyes shut. He dropped to his knees groaning in pain.

"Keith!"

"Keith, are you alright?"

"What's happening?"

None of his friends' worries were heard as he was squeezing his ears. It was painful. So painful! He suddenly couldn't hear anything. No sound reached his ears. He felt movement beneath his hands. He moved his hands away and looked up sharply in alarm. His friends-all their mouths were moving but he couldn't hear anything. He stood up with one hand on his temple to try and suppress the pain. He tried to talk, to ask what was happening, but he couldn't even hear his own voice. He saw his friends talking to each other.

"Guys! What's happening! I can't hear anything!"

Everyone looked at each other in distress. Just as they were about to say something they froze. They were just staring at him. No, not him, his ears. Sound began coming back to him slowly. It started sounding muffled and slurred. He could hear them talking but couldn't make out the words. He tried reading their lips. _'Ears', 'big', 'cat',_ are the only words he could make out. Slowly still, sound started becoming clearer. Lance was the first one he heard.

"You look like a purple cat!"

"What?!"

Everyone silenced when they realized Keith was coherent again.

"A cat?!" Keith ran off… again… to his bathroom, but didn't bother locking his door this time. He was staring into the mirror not knowing what to think. Apparently, what he had felt moving beneath his hands were his ears. They were transforming. What he saw now were large, cat-like ears. The bottom of his ears were just a bit higher that his… human ear. The tips extended just above his head. They were huge… and furry! He reached up to feel them and they twitched. Oh… they were sensitive. He heard footsteps coming and quickly turned around. No one was there. His ears rotated a bit and he realized that the sounds were actually coming from a ways down the hallway. _How am I hearing this?_ Upon listening further, he heard voices too. Lance was cooing over him looking like a cat. Pidge was wondering if they affected his hearing any. Hunk was joining in on Pidge's theories. Shiro was silent. He felt his ears twitching at his own confusion. _They will never let me live this down!_ He rushed to close his door but they were already there. "Guys!" he said out of surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the lions being protective of their paladins. And Keith finally got his ears! Anyway, I feel like Pidge would look up to Keith like an older brother. I think she would seem him as this strong, unbreakable, protective person. Seeing him like he is, I feel would have an impact on Pidge. Hope you all like it. Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	6. Acceptance by Self

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red helps Keith accept his newly discovered lineage.

"They twitched!" Lance squealed. "And… Oh my gosh! You are blushing purple again!"

Keith covered his face, his ears turned sideways.

Pidge narrowed her eyes. "You knew we were coming, didn't you?"

He lowered his hands and focused on answering Pidge's question instead of Lance's _ridiculous_ reactions. "Y-yea. I heard your footsteps and could hear what everyone was saying too."

"Wow. That's awesome." Hunk pointed a finger at Keith's large ears. "I mean, could you imagine? You'd be, like, the ultimate spy. You could hear through rooms, pick up on conversations, though I'm sure there would be some downsides but-"

"Hunk," Shiro interrupted him, "Let's not overwhelm him." He smiled.

"Oh, right."

While they were talking, Lance had moved behind Keith, staring at his ears and how they moved. He reached up to touch one. He barely made contact with one when they twitched and Keith jumped. He turned around and Lance was covering his mouth, suppressing a giggle. When Keith ears turned backwards out of annoyance, Lance giggled again. Just as he was about to tell him off, he felt another hand touching his ears. He turned his head and saw Pidge retracting one of her hands. "Really? You too?"

"Sorry, I can't help it. They just look so soft. Like a cat!"

"I'm not a cat!"

"Do you want to figure out what you _are_?" Everyone got silent and looked at Shiro. He knew it was going to be a touchy question, but figured he better ask now. Keith knew what he meant. He knew they were all as curious about his situation as he was and just wanted some definitive answers. Slowly and silently, Keith nodded his head. Shiro turned to Allura. She nodded.

"Follow me. We will run some tests on your DNA."

* * *

They all arrived in the med bay and Keith sat in one of the chairs. Coran drew some blood from his arm. Everyone was a bit surprised at the color. His blood wasn't a crimson red anymore. Now it was more of a dark maroon color. Keith looked at the syringe of his blood then looked away, not wanting to look at anyone else, his ears turned sideways. Coran inserted it into a machine. After a few moments, some complicated sequences began showing up on the screen. Coran typed out a few things and it pulled up his DNA percentages.

"Well…" Coran hesitated.

"It's okay, Coran, I'm pretty sure I know what it says." Keith couldn't take waiting. Everyone else was just as anxious.

Coran turned to the others then looked at Keith. "You are pretty much exactly 50% Human and 50% Galran."

A sharp inhale was heard from Keith. It was slowly exhaled a few seconds later. "W-which…" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. He felt Shiro place a hand on his shoulder. He took another deep breath. "Which one was Galran?"

“Your mother.”

It was short, simple, and straight to the point. That’s all he wanted. Though… he wasn’t sure what to think. He can barely remember his parents before they died, but still… learning that one wasn’t even his real parent… he wasn’t sure how to react. He didn’t know what to do with this information. Yes, he had wanted to know, but now that he did… well…

"Keith?"

Keith realized he'd been spacing out a bit and looked up. "H-huh?" He saw that everyone in the room was looking at him with… sympathy… pity… he wasn't sure what it was. "Guys. I'm fine. I promise." He got up and headed out of the room, unsure of where exactly he was going. The others, thankfully, didn't follow. He heard Shiro say something to the others about 'alone time'. _Thank you, Shiro,_ Keith thought. Right now he needed… well, he didn't know what he needed. His legs seemed to be walking for him, taking him somewhere on their own. He was too deep in his thoughts to realize that he was still walking. He soon ended up in Red's hangar. He heard a curious rumble in his mind. "Hey Red." He walks over and sits down at one of her paws. She lays down with her head next to him. "I just don't know what to do?" She purred questioningly, wondering what's wrong.

"What's wrong? _What's wrong?!_ What do you think is wrong?" He stood up, gesturing widely with his hands. "My arms and legs are purple! My spine too! I have huge, furry cat ears! And my fingers have become claws! I. Am. Becoming. The enemy!" He punctuated each word, his ears turned backwards out of anger. Tears began to sting his eyes. It felt as if everything from the past few days was just catching up with him. The anger quickly left his voice and he was just left with hurt. His ears lay flat against his head. He spoke quieter, more… broken, "H-how can the others… how can they be so calm about this?" He fell to his knees in front of Red, leaning his forehead against her. Tears finally began to fall to the ground.

Red growled, a sound that was both demanding and comforting. _'Why do_ you _think they accepted you so easily?'_ Keith sniffed. "I-I'm not sure…" He looked at his clawed hands; they were shaking. "I l-look like a- a G-Galra." She growled again. "And? And… I-I don't know." Red let out a soft rumble that said _Exactly._ Keith looked up at her. "I guess they're- looking past that, huh?" Red seemed to chuckle, as though he is just realizing what she had known the entire time. Keith smiled and wiped his eyes, feeling exactly how sharp his claws were. "So, what do I do now?"

Red seemed to smile at that… if she could smile… and let out a roar, not a real loud one, but still enough to intimidate any enemy. In just under a minute, the rest of his team- his family –were standing in the doorway to the hangar. Keith looked up at his friends. He smiled, knowing exactly why Red had called them down here. "H-hey, guys."

Shiro smiled. "Are you done brooding?"

Keith sniffed as he stood up. "Y-yea. I'm good, guys. I promise." He smiled as he walked over to join his friends.

Shiro put an arm over his shoulders as they walked down the hallway.

And of _course,_ Lance just _had_ to open his mouth. "So… Can I touch your ears now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one is a bit shorter, but Keith has finally accepted it… Thanks to Red. :) I like the lions being sentient but not actually talking. More like communicating through different sounds through their paladin's mind. Hope y'all enjoyed it! Some fluff coming next. XD Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	7. The Paladins' Challenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is obsessed with Keith's new ears.

The next week or so went by fairly normally. The violet seemed to stop at his knees and elbows and down his spine. _Hopefully_ , Keith thought, _that's as far as it would go._ Nothing else has changed since his ears, either. Granted, saying _fairly normal,_ might be a bit misleading, as Keith seemed to _never_ be able to find some alone time. **Everyone seemed to be obsessed with his ears** and wanting to pet him like a cat. Ugh! It was frustrating. He has already taken a few swipes at each of them, Lance mostly. Never actually scratching anyone, usually just to deter anyone who tried. Lance, however, just pushed its aside calling him a 'temperamental cat'.

Currently, Keith was hiding out in Red's cockpit, hoping Lance wouldn't find him. A video screen popped up in front of him showing Pidge looking for him. _'Keith? Dude, chill I'm not gonna touch your ears. I just need your help with something.'_ Keith sighed, figuring it couldn't hurt. Red chuckled. "Oh, shut it." She laughed again, opening her ramp for him. Keith groaned and walked out to meet with Pidge.

"Hey! Bout time you came out from hiding. Anyway, Hunk just tried out some new recipes and want's us both to try them." She smiled widely and they began heading towards the kitchen.

"Alright… as long as there are no attempts at my ears." They flicked when he said that.

Pidge giggled, but put a hand to her heart. "I swear that neither I nor Hunk will attempt to touch your ears."

Keith nodded once at that, seeming satisfied.

* * *

When they got to the kitchen, Hunk had indeed been cooking. Four different dishes, all of vibrant colors, were sitting on the table. Hunk saw the two of them enter the room and smiled. "Hey, guys! I'm trying to recreate the taste of Earth foods with these alien things. I'm not sure what they are called, but I think I did a pretty good job. I mean, I hope I did, but that's why I want you two to try them."

Keith smiled and sat down in one of the chairs. Pidge sat next to him. Hunk pushed one of his dishes towards him. It looked like the top of a jellyfish. It was bright pink and gelatin-like. It had some kind of light blue sauce on it. He took a bite and was surprised at how close the taste was to spaghetti. Just as he was about to take a bite of the next dish, his ears twitched. He heard footsteps approaching behind him. He turned around. "Dammit Lance. What di- Oh, Shiro. Sorry, I thought Lance wa-" Then he felt someone touching his ears. Petting them like a cat and scratching behind them. He couldn't even protest. It just felt _so_ good. He tilted his head, pressing into the touch. Then he heard a snicker and it pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up and saw Lance was the one scratching his ears. Shiro was doing his best to hold in his laughing and Hunk and Pidge were also covering their mouths. A soft violet color spread across Keith's face, realizing what had just happened. "Lance!" Keith growled and brought a clawed hand up to swipe at him. His claws caught Lance's hand has he was retracting it. He left three claw marks across the back of his hand. Lance took a step back. The others stopped laughing. Keith stood up and backed against a wall and his blush quickly disappeared. "L-Lance- I-I-"

"Keith, wait." Lance held a hand out.

Keith turned to leave, but Lance grabbed his shoulder gently. Keith didn't know what to think. He should have known this would happen. Galra blood runs through him.

"Keith, I don't blame you." Lance spoke calmly trying to comfort his friend. "It's my fault for touching your ears. Come on, man. Even if you weren't Galra, you would still have probably punched me." Lance smiled. "The only difference is, now you swipe like a cat instead of punching like a paladin." He smirked.

Keith turned around and saw the others smiling softly.

"Hey, we were all just curious about your ears," Pidge began, "I mean, come on, we are all stuck on a ship. If something new or different happens, we gotta milk it." She laughed.

"Besides," Hunk added, "that was the cutest thing I have ever seen!"

Keith sighed, though feeling a lot better. "You guys are _never_ gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope!" Shiro ruffled his hair between his ears.

* * *

After that day, it became almost a game to see who could get Keith to 'purr like a cat' without getting swiped by his claws. However, it was hard to sneak up on someone who has heightened, sensitive hearing. Though, after a while, others began to realize that if Keith was tired or focusing on something else, then he _usually_ wouldn't hear them coming. Hunk tried once during breakfast one morning. Keith was eating his breakfast and still half asleep, his ears were fallen sideways. When Hunk had successfully gotten to pet his ears, they perked up a bit. It seemed to almost put him to sleep again. That is, until Keith dropped his spork and the sound woke him up. He took a swipe at Hunk, but it was a lazy one. Hunk ran off to add a point to his name on the scoreboard that they had started. Keith just sighed and laid his head on the table.

* * *

Another time, Pidge tried right after Keith had finished a training session. He was sitting on a bench leaning his elbows on his knees. He was wiping the sweat from his face with a towel around his neck. He was tired and panting and focused on catching his breath. She had snuck up behind him `and managed to get a pleasurable moan out of him before he took a swipe at her. He was too exhausted from his training session to try and pursue her. She added a tally to her name.

* * *

Allura and Coran had found out about the paladin's game and decided to join in. Coran decided to try and sneak up behind him in a hallway. That didn't work. Without even turning around Keith called, "Coran, if you even think about it…" Coran snapped his fingers in defeat. Keith faced him and put a hand on one hip. "You know, at least the others tried to get me when I was distracted or something." He just smiled and walked off. By this point, Keith had already found out about the challenge and didn't even bother trying to put a stop to it. He just tried to catch them more often.

* * *

Allura had caught him at lunch one day. Coran and the other paladins had followed her and waited just outside the doorway, peeking inside to see what'll happen. Allura made a plate of food, sat down next to Keith, and began eating. After a moment, Keith finally spoke up. "Go ahead," he said, resigned, and put his head down slightly. Allura smiled and pet his ears, scratching at the base. He found it quite pleasing, both the petting and the looks on the others' faces. Their mouths had all fallen open, unable to believe what they had just seen. The princess didn't even have to _ask!_ A shit-eating grin spread across Keith's face at their expressions.

* * *

Shiro didn't even have to sneak up on the half-Galra. He and Keith were walking down a hall one day. Shiro had put his left hand on Keith's shoulder as usual, and they were just talking casually. Then, before Keith had a chance to react, Shiro was rubbing his ears. Keith enjoyed it while it lasted then swiped at him, sticking his tongue out. "Really? How old are you?" Shiro crossed his arms and smirked.

* * *

One morning Lance was standing just outside of Keith's bedroom door. He stood flat against the wall on the left side. When the door opened, a very tired looking Keith came out and turned right, seeming not to notice the blue paladin. Lance tiptoed behind him and just as he was reaching out, Keith said, "Don't even think about it, I am tired and _will_ swipe at you." That didn't deter Lance, however. He reached up and grabbed the tips of his ears with his thumbs and index fingers. Keith froze. He manipulated them side to side while snickering. "That's it, Lance!" Keith turned and swiped just in time to see the blue paladin taking off down the hallway at an amazing speed. "LANCE!" Keith ran off after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… I had waaay too much fun writing this chapter. Everyone wants to touch his ears! Also, playing with his ears is not a turn on for him. I know some fics make it that way but in my fic it isn't perverted in any way. More of just a relaxing feeling like a massage someone playing with your hair. Just wanted to clear that up. :) Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	8. The Transformation Continues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That night Keith woke up screaming. He shot up out of his sleep with a searing pain in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I know lately I have been updating every Wednesday, but I missed last Wednesday. Sorry. I will try and keep it going every Wednesday though. My life has just been absolutely crazy lately with work, college, and family. Thanks for everyone's patience!

After Lance had pulled his little stunt, the half-Galra had called off the challenge, much to Pidge's dismay. So the green paladin had tallied up the final scores for the game. Coran had come in last with only two points; he wasn't very good at sneaking up on Keith. Hunk came in fifth with four points. He, honestly, just wasn't trying too hard. He just enjoyed watching the others try and Keith taking swipes at them. Lance had come in fourth with 7 points. He probably had the most failed attempts out of all of them… and a few scratches to show for it, too. Pidge came in third with 9 points. Though, Lance thinks it's just because Keith went easy on her. Shiro came in second with 12 points. Of course, Shiro knows Keith the best, so he could find the best times. Finally, Allura came in first place with 13 points. Though, everyone is arguing that it doesn't count if Keith actually _let_ her.

Keith was thankful that everyone finally seemed to be over the whole thing. Well… almost everyone. Lance still tries once in a while, at his own risk of course. Everything finally seemed to be getting back to normal… again.

Keith had just sat down for breakfast when Allura had made an announcement. "There is a small outpost town on a nearby planet. The Galra's forces have already reached this planet but it is not greatly enforced. We need to restock on food and supplies so we will be stopping by."

"Paladins, you probably shouldn't wear your Voltron armor as that might bring unwanted attention to us. Best to just wear your usual clothing." Coran stood with one hand on his hip and the other twirling his mustache.

"Keith, you should probably wear this to hide your ears and purple skin." Shiro had tossed him a brown hooded cloak. "We don't need anyone trying to start trouble if they suspect you are Galra."

* * *

After they landed outside the outpost, the five paladins made their way to the town. Coran had suggested he and Allura stay behind. Seeing as they are the last Alteans, they might draw attention. Coran gave Shiro a list of what they needed… along with some pictures so they can identify the items. There were all sorts of different species walking- and flying- around the town. It looked much like a marketplace with vendors set up all along the pathways. The paladins split into two groups and each took half the list to look for the items and supplies. Lance and Keith had gone one way while Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk went off another way. Each of them were all easily distracted by many things they saw. Keith had stopped at a weapons booth and Lance had to drag him off. Though, Keith had to drag Lance away from alien girls when he got to flirting. Pidge had found a vendor selling service robots. She was mesmerized. When Shiro asked Hunk to retrieve her, he got mesmerized right along with her. Shiro face-palmed. Eventually, Hunk was also able to find more of the space root everyone thinks tastes like bacon. After a couple of hours they had found everything they needed and the five of them headed back to the ship.

* * *

"That seems to have gone off without a hitch!" Coran greeted them as they arrived in the Castle of Lions.

Allura and Coran helped with the boxes of supplies and they brought all the food to the kitchen. While unpacking the food, Lance had pulled out a few odd looking fruit.

"Oh! You found some pina fruit!" Allura clapped her hands together. "They aren't very common and I wasn't sure they could be found here."

"Pina fruit?" Keith questioned. He grabbed one of the fruit. It was bright blue, about the size of an orange, and had a red leaf still attached at the top. It was a bit fuzzy like a peach but hard like an apple.

"Oh yes. They are very sweet and juicy! You should try it," Coran insisted, grabbing one of the fruit for himself and taking a large bite out of it.

The others took Coran's suggestion and each took a fruit, trying a bite. "Wow! I think I could make some sort of pie out of this. Like an apple pie, but it taste more like a banana." Hunk was already thinking of uses for it in the kitchen.

"Banana? It think it's more like a grape taste." Pidge took another bite. "Hmmm, yea I think I can kinda taste the banana."

Coran and Allura looked at each other and shrugged. _Must be an earth thing._

Shiro and Lance also each took a bite and expressed their liking it. Keith shrugged and took a bite of the one he was holding. As soon as his teeth sunk into the fruit he felt a dull pain in his mouth. He groaned and dropped the fruit while bringing both hands to his mouth.

"Keith? Keith, are you okay?" Shiro moved to his side.

"What happened?" Lance questioned.

"I'm not sure. As soon as I tried to take a bite, my mouth felt extremely sore." Keith picked up the fruit he dropped, examining it.

"Maybe the Galra are allergic to this fruit," Pidge suggested.

"Maybe." It was a slow answer from Keith. He wasn't really paying attention now, just staring at the fruit.

* * *

That night Keith woke up screaming. He shot up out of his sleep with a searing pain in his mouth. In less than a minute, Shiro and the others were at his bedroom door, which turned out to be locked. Keith always locked his door at night, more out of habit than anything. Living on his own back on Earth, he made sure his place was always locked. They were banging on his door calling out to him.

"Keith! What's happening?!"

"Open the door! Keith?!"

"Keith, come on!"

Keith, however, couldn't hear them. Even aside from his screams, the pain in his head was too intense. He was now bent forward on his bed with both hands to his mouth. On the other side of the door, Shiro had powered up his arm and sliced through the control panel to the door. The door slid open with a hiss and Shiro was the first to run in to Keith's bed. Keith still couldn't make out what they were saying. He just heard mumbling. The pain had suddenly dulled and he moved his hands away and looked at them. There were traces of deep maroon blood on his hands. He looked up at his friends and saw their faces of worry that matched his own. Just as suddenly, the pain started again. The next thing he knew, he felt something in his mouth… other than the taste of blood. He spit it out into his hands and it was… his tooth?! _What the hell?!_ He felt the sharp agony again, forcefully pushing another tooth out. The pain dulled again and he looked up at Shiro. "Am-" he began with a shaky voice, "am I losing my teeth?"

Shiro looked at him, unsure of what to say.

"No," Pidge spoke quietly, "look." She pointed at the two teeth in Keith's hand. The others looked, then looked back at the green paladin, confused. She sighed.

"Wait! She's right!" Hunk spoke up. "The teeth in his hands- they're his canines."

Realization dawned on the others and they looked back at Keith. He seemed to understand too.

"Ooooh! So you're gonna grow fangs!" Lance seemed to just understand.

Pidge face-palmed.

Coran held of a finger. "Of course! That would make sense seeing as he is part Galra."

"It seems like the change is coming so fast that his canines were forced out to make room for his fangs." Allura had turned, looking for something. Then she found a clean rag and handed it to Keith. "Here, you've got to stop the bleeding." Keith took it and bit down on it.

"So how long will it take for his fangs to grow in?" Hunk inquired.

"I'm not entirely certain. This is a… unique… situation." Allura had a hand to her chin in thought. "Coran?"

"I'm not sure either, Princess. It could possibly take anywhere between a matter of hours or weeks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… I don't really care much for this chapter. I'm not sure what went wrong but it just didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I hope you all like it better. Also, I know back in chapter 6 I said that it was his father that was Galra but I'm gonna change it to his mother being Galra. Also, how would y'all feel about Keith having a tail? I know there was a Galra in Season 2 with one so now that I know they are canon, I'm considering it. Let me know what y'all think. Until next chapter,   
> NyteXade


	9. Internal Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith begins to feel sick while walking with Lance to the training deck. Lance feels helpless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So the end of the semester is killing me. I am still trying to keep up with my stories though so don't worry!

A few days have passed since Keith lost his canines. He has since refrained from talking as much as he can. He tends to talk with a bit of a lisp due to his missing teeth and the others tend to have some fun with that. So he eventually just gave up talking altogether unless absolutely necessary, which usually meant telling off Lance for one thing or another.

The paladins were all at breakfast; Allura and Coran were running the daily diagnostics on the castle. Hunk had brought out the space root he found and cooked it up like bacon. They had all already begun eating in silence until Lance tried to steal some of the space root from Keith's plate before he could even taste it.

"Lanth, dammit! I will thlithe your hand off!" Keith's ears turned in annoyance.

Everyone began snickering. His ears twisted forward at the sound and a violet blush quickly spread over Keith's cheeks. Just as Keith made to leave, Shiro stopped him.

"Keith, we're sorry," he finished his laughter, "but really, how are your teeth coming along?"

Keith sat back down and crossed his arms in a huff, his ears lay flat. After a few seconds, he opened his mouth. In the two empty spots of his missing canines, two small points had begun coming in, slowly but surely. Shiro nodded. Keith finally turned back to his food and took a bite of the root. He loved the taste of the root. It reminded him so much of Earth. The rest of breakfast was finished in silence. After, Shiro went off to find Allura. Hunk and Pidge left to their lion's hangars, something about new modifications. Lance dragged Keith off to the training deck.

* * *

The walk to the training deck was done mostly in silence. Lance kept glancing at Keith but Keith kept his gaze to the side. The blue paladin hated awkward silences; he wanted to say something.

"So…" he began, trying to break the silence, "are you going to keep giving us all the silent treatment just because you sound funny?" he chuckled.

Keith looked at him and stuck his tongue out.

Lance crossed his arms. "Woow. Is that the best you can come up with?"

Then Keith held his hand up, clearly indicating his sharp claws, and grinned.

Lance held up both hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Geez, grumpy cat."

Keith glared at him.

Then, Lance noticed that Keith was looking a bit flushed in the face. There was also a slight shine of sweat on his forehead. "Keith, are you feeling okay."

Keith looked at him questioningly. Though, he hadn't really thought about it till now, but he was feeling pretty warm. When Lance started to reach a hand to his face, Keith made to swipe at him but the sudden rush of movement made him feel extremely dizzy. Keith staggered a bit, trying to keep upright, but a sudden pain in his mouth caused him to fall to his hands and knees.

"Keith?!"

He started screaming… though, Lance thought the screams started to sound more like growls. Keith's fangs started rapidly growing, they forced through his gums. Blood began dripping from his mouth and puddled on the floor. His blood was starting to look more purple in color. His claws were leaving deep marks in the floor's metal. When his fangs seemed to stop growing, Keith lost the strength he had and fell to the floor panting.

Lance dropped to his knees and rolled Keith onto his back. "Keith! Keith, what happened?!" He helped him to his feet.

"I-I think w-we should head b-back-" He turned back down the hallway, but only managed one step before the fell forward, unconscious.

"Keith!" Lance dropped back down. He was internally panicking now. Even unconscious, Keith's breathing was heavy and labored. He was still sweating and his face had a purple flush. Lance couldn't think of anything else to do so he just called for help, hoping someone was near enough to hear. "Help! Someone! I need help here!"

Shiro, Allura, and Coran came running around a corner, rushing to him. Shiro got to him first. "Lance! What happened?"

"I'm not sure! He started to look a bit pale and flushed and-"

"Shiro, we have to get him to the med bay." Allura spoke quietly, trying to stay calm.

Coran helped Shiro get Keith off the floor. Shiro carried him to the med bay with the others following. When they got there, he immediately put Keith in a healing pod so Coran can scan his body. It only took a few minutes for the scan to finish. During that time, Shiro had called Hunk and Pidge over the coms to inform them of the situation. They arrived only a few minutes later. Coran began typing away furiously on the nearby computer until he seemed to arrive at a conclusion.

"Well, there seems to be some sort of poison running through his system. It only seems to be a mild poison and usually shouldn't do much harm. However, at the same time, it seems Keith's immune system is extremely weak at the moment." Coran began his explanation on what he had found. He paused, waiting for reactions from the others. They all seemed confused but listening intently. So, he continued. "His immune system is currently transforming from that of a human to that of a Galra. Because he is currently in the middle of this change, something that would normally act as a mild poison is now acting as a severe one."

"So why did his fangs just suddenly grow in all at once?" Lance could not keep the worry out of his voice.

"Ah, yes. You see, because this poison has become so severe, it caused his body's defenses to kick into over drive. That includes any vulnerable part of his body, which, at the moment, was where his missing teeth were. They were forced to complete their growth as a defense mechanism."

"Coran, you keep saying poison. What is the poison?" Shiro finally asked.

"Oh." Coran turned back to the computer and began typing again. He found what he was looking for and began talking as he was reading. "It seems the poison hasn't been in his system long so it has to be something he ate today." He turned back around. "Do you know what all he has eaten today?"

Before anyone could say anything, Hunk gasped. "It's my fault." Everyone looked at Hunk in confusion. "It's the root; that's the only explanation. That's the only thing he's eaten today. What if the root is poisonous to Galra? What if I was the one to poison him? What if he doesn't come out of this? Wh-"

"Hunk, calm down. There was no way you could have known that it would be harmful to Keith." Shiro tried to reassure him.

"Yea, I mean, he's eaten it before and nothing has happened. Any of us could have made that mistake." Pidge chimed in.

"None of us could have possibly known that his body is changing the way it is, Hunk. Please, don't blame yourself." Allura placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Hunk seemed to relax a bit. "So what now?"

"I have given him some medication that should help to counteract the poison as well as help stabilize the changes that are happening." Coran had pulled up some sequences on the computer, but no one really understood them. "It should be a simple enough healing process. He should be perfectly fine in just a few hours."

"I think 'fine' is relative when it comes to Keith." The others chuckled a bit solemnly at Shiro's remark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I liked this chapter much better than the last. I hope the explanation for everything made sense. It might be a little 'out there' even for Voltron. I am really enjoying everyone's reviews! Also, I seem to be getting more votes for a tail than against. I may end up adding one later but keep telling me what y’all think of the idea. Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	10. Out of Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of sight, out of mind, right? Not for Keith; out of sight is just... out of sight.

When Keith emerged from the healing pod, unlike the last time, everyone was waiting for him. It seemed like they were playing a card game or something. They were all sitting in a circle, chatting, with cards scattered about. As he stepped out of the pod, he stumbled forward a bit but caught himself. Lance was the first to notice.

"Keith!"

At that, everyone turned around and shot to their feet at the sight of him.

"What happ-" Keith paused at feeling the new additions inside his mouth. He felt his fangs with his tongue. They were a lot larger and sharper than he was expecting. He ignored them for now and continued. "What happened?" Keith rubbed his head. "Last I remember, I was in the hall with Lance on the way to the training deck."

"You started to not feel good and ended up passing out in the hallway after your fangs grew in. After we got you to Coran, it turns out Hunk tried to poison y-"

"Lance." Shiro reprimanded before he finished.

"Aw come on. I was only kidding." Lance tossed an arm around Hunk, who smiled a bit sheepishly.

Shiro turned back to Keith. "What Lance _means_ is, the root you ate at breakfast is apparently poisonous to the Galra race. Coran informed us that your immune system is adapting to your Galra lineage."

Keith's eyes widened a bit but then he just cast his gaze at the floor.

Pidge hated seeing Keith like this. She couldn't imagine how hard all this must be on him. All this must be so overwhelming for him. She hoped she could cheer him up. "Well, on the bright side, your fangs have come in fully." She smiled cheerfully. "No more talking with a lisp, though I will miss seeing you attack Lance for making stupid remarks," she joked.

Keith smiled. He felt something stinging his eyes. It wasn't tears, something else, like dirt got into them. He blinked a few times then rubbed them with the heel of his hands. When he put his hands down, that just seemed to make matters worse. His vision was suddenly blurry. He must have been making some weird faces, because everyone fell silent.

"Keith, is everything alright?"

He heard Allura's voice and saw a fuzzy figure step closer to him. He looked around a moment until he found, who he figured was Coran, judging by the fuzzy orange color hair. "Coran, could that root have affected my eyesight?"

Coran was silent for a moment, thinking. "Um, well…" Keith heard more typing on a nearby computer. Then Coran spoke again, "It doesn't seem like the poison ever got as far as your central nervous system, so your eyes should be unaffected."

"Why? What are you seeing right now?" Hunks voice came from near Keith's right side.

Keith looked around for a moment. "Everything is very… blurry and fuzzy. I mean, I can pick out who everyone is and where you all are, but that's about as far as it goes."

Unknown to Keith, the other's exchanged worried glances.

Pidge whispered to Shiro so quietly, she was sure he was the only one to hear. "His eyes have changed…" She saw Keith's ears twitch and she gasped, realizing he'd heard what she whispered.

"How? How have they changed?" He pressed, taking a few steps towards Pidge and Shiro, feeling with his arms out.

"Well…" Pidge wasn't sure what to say.

"Your pupils are extremely constricted, like the size of pinpricks." At the look on Keith's face, Hunk hastily added, "But they are still your usual purple color!"

In his slight panic, Keith began rubbing his eyes again until Lance rushed to him and pulled his hands down. "You can't do that! We don't know what will make it worse!" Even as he said those words, he realized it was too late. When Keith opened his eyes again, his pupils were completely nonexistent. Lance gasped.

"Lance? Shiro? Guys, what happened? Why is the power out?" When nothing but silence followed, Keith's panic levels began to rise. "Guys?!" He reached out with his hands and felt Lance still in front of him. "Lance? Lance! What's happened?"

Lance hesitated. Everyone else was in stunned silence. "Keith, the power- the power's not out."

Keith staggered backwards as though he'd been struck in the stomach.

"Can you see?" he heard Hunk ask.

"N-no. Nothing."

"Coran," Keith heard Allura's worried voice, "Can a healing pod…"

"I'm afraid not, Princess." Coran spoke slowly. "This isn't any kind of injury or illness. It just seems to be another transformation."

Keith fell backwards onto his rear, more out of shock than anything. With his ears turned flat against his head, he looked much like a wounded animal.

"Keith!" Shiro walked over and knelt next to him. "Keith, don't worry. You can get through this. It should pass-"

"W-what if it doesn't?" Keith spoke so quietly, Shiro almost didn't hear him.

"It will." Lance spoke determinedly.

"Yea," Pidge agreed firmly, "and we will all be here to help you through it."

Hunk nodded in agreement, then internally face-palmed himself. "Oh, right. I'm nodding in agreement, since you can't see and all."

"Hunk!" came a chorus of voices.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Keith couldn't help but smile at his friends. They always seemed to make him feel better, no matter the situation or circumstances. It has been so long since he has had a family of his own and he has certainly come to consider them all family. He felt someone on either side of him helping him to his feet. His ears seemed to pick up on the slightest things. He learned that he could identify who was near just by the sound of their breathing or their footsteps, things he never realized he'd picked up on in the first place. It was Lance and Shiro helping him to his feet. He just then seemed to notice how tired he actually was. "What time is it?"

No long after they all began their adventure in space, Allura and Coran had helped them set up clocks around the castle that represented Earth time. It helped them keep their natural sleep routine.

"It's about 9 in the evening." He heard Shiro to his left.

Keith sighed. He began towards the door of the med bay, or at least where he thought it was.

"Where do you think you are going?" Lance called from behind him.

Keith kept walking. "Where do you think? I'm tired and heading to bed."

"But Keith, the doo-" Pidge was cut off when Keith ran into the wall just to the left of the door.

Keith groaned. It was more due to frustration than pain. He stood and leaned his head against the wall. He heard Pidge approaching him. Her footsteps were lighter and usually quicker than the others'. She reached him and placed one of his hands on her shoulder. "Thank you, Pidge," he finally resigned.

She smiled, even though she knew he couldn't see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo… Keith has no sight. Gotta get those golden eyes in there somehow! Hope everyone is enjoying it. I have big plans for this fiction! Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	11. Turn a Blind Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's eyes continue to change.

Keith woke up the next morning to his usual dark room. Out of habit, he crossed the room to flip the light switch. When no light came on, he began to panic for just a split second until he remembered what happened. _Great. No sight and everyone is probably still asleep._ He decided against calling for someone and headed out his door towards the kitchen. His hand trailed along the walls of the castle, feeling the indent of a door every now and then. He seemed to know the layout of the castle much better than he expected to. As he approached what he was sure was the training deck, he could hear the clashing of weapons. His ears twitched at the sharp sounds. From the pacing of the fight and the sound of the metals, he could tell it was Shiro. Though, no one else would be training this early but him or Shiro anyway. The sounds suddenly stopped.

"Keith?" He heard Shiro's footsteps begin approaching. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Shiro, seriously, I'm fine. I am perfectly capable of walking to the kitchen on my own."

"Really?" Shiro crossed his arms, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by the red paladin judging by the flicking of his ears. "Is that why you have already passed the kitchen a few rooms down?"

Keith internally slapped himself. _So, I don't know the castle as well as I thought._ He sighed and heard Shiro chuckle.

Shiro grabbed his wrist lightly. "Come on, I'll help you to the kitchen."

Keith removed his hand from his friend's grip. Not because of his dislike for physical contact; he was usually more lax about that with Shiro. No, it was more because he was determined on making it without needing someone to 'hold his hand' so to speak.

Shiro shook his head but started towards the kitchen anyway. Keith was able to follow him form the sounds of his movement, hand still trailing along the wall. When they got there, Keith took a seat at the table much to the insistence of Shiro and the black paladin began breakfast.

"I know I'm not a cook like Hunk, but I at least managed something." Shiro placed a bowl of… something… in front of Keith. It was very similar to cereal, something they had found on their last supply run.

"Thanks," Keith grumbled. "Where's Allura and Coran?"

"They are both in the med bay trying to see if there is anything that can be done to help with your eyesight."

Keith nodded and took a bite. He felt so helpless like this; he hated having to rely so much on others. He hear more shuffling as Shiro got himself some food and sat across from him. They were eating in silence for only a few minutes before Keith heard Shiro stop eating.

"What's wrong?" Keith put his spork down, looking in the direction of his friend.

"Your eyes have changed again."

Keith blinked, giving him a look that asked _how so?_

"Well, your irises seem to be shrinking; you have more sclera now. Also, your sclera more of a pale yellow."

He looked at him, completely puzzled. Keith considered himself a smart person. He usually passed his classes with A's and rarely B's. However, certain scientific terms, especially those that aren't common in everyday use, have pretty much left his memory. "Uh… English please."

Shiro sighed. "The color of your eye seems to be shrinking causing more of the white to show, but the 'white' is a pale yellow," he rephrased.

"Oh." That was all he could think to say. He wasn't sure how to react to that. He didn't get much of a chance to, however, as the others started showing up for breakfast.

Hunk was the first one to show up. He greeted them tiredly and made him a bowl of that space cereal. Shiro looked at him with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

Hunk seemed to read his expression. "I'm too tired to try and make anything more complicated than this."

Shiro just shrugged and continued eating his own food. Not long after, Lance and Pidge also arrived and made the same thing. They all ate in silence, mostly due to exhaustion, until Pidge was putting her dishes away and noticed Keith's eyes.

"Wow." She sounded fascinated. "You have almost _no_ irises left in your eyes. Your sclera, which is no longer white, seem to be increasing in size and reducing the size of your irises at the same time."

Lance just stared at her, too tired to even ask.

Hunk made some sounds of interest as well.

"Yea, so I've heard." Keith brushed their interest aside and left the room.

"Um… does he know where he's going?" Lance finally decided to speak.

From down the hall, they heard Keith call "I heard that!"

"Damn! He's got ears like a bat!" Lance shoved the last bit of his food into his mouth and went to wash his dishes.

* * *

Keith ended up back at the training deck a few moments later. Though it was slower than it usually would have taken him, he was glad he finally got there on his own. He wanted to test his skills with only his hearing to guide him. He's done training before while blindfolded, but with his hearing as strong as it is, he wanted to push his limits a bit. He called for a level three training session to begin and two training dummies appeared in front of him. Right as they began to advance towards him, he could hear them. He heard their footsteps, the creak of metal, the echoes from the room, and most surprisingly, he could hear the woosh of air as they raised their weapons for a strike. He easily dodged their attacks and nimbly flipped to one hand then back to his feet landing behind them. He then, spun around and sliced his sword through both robots at once. They shimmered out of existence. He called for level four and three more appeared. He jumped right into battle.

He was so concentrated on the robots' sounds and the sounds in that room, he failed to notice the others had shown up just outside the doorway. They all just stood and watched. It was such a mesmerizing thing to watch, like a well-choreographed dance. Once some 'oohing and aahing' began, Keith finally heard them. He finished off the last robot and spun around towards the new sounds, his ears rotating back and forth. He finally concluded who all was watching… everyone. Ignoring them, he walked over to where he knew a bench was. Feeling for it, he sat down to catch his breath.

"How long have you guys been watching?" he finally asked.

"Long enough!" Pidge came bounding in.

The others followed. "That was awesome! Really fun to watch, especially your ears!" Hunk was bouncing on his toes.

One of Keith's ears flicked. "My ears?"

"Yea!" Lance spoke excitedly. "They were going crazy!"

"Your ears seemed to be working overtime. Rotating independently and picking up on every sound around you," Coran stated.

Keith thought for a moment. "Yea," he said slowly, thinking, "they do seem to be working ten times better now."

"It could be because your hearing is making up for the loss of your sight," Shiro suggested.

"Yes, that's true!" Allura pointed to Shiro. "It may have just taken the loss of your sight to truly experience the extent of your hearing."

Keith nodded, knowing it makes sense. He finally looked up at them. Shiro had taken a step back and Keith heard everyone's breath hitch a bit. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Y-your eyes." Lance spoke quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, if you are currently reading both of my fics, this one and my Blue Exorcist Challenge, you'll probably notice a parallel in the stories ^.^ Anyway, until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	12. Intruder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A galra soldier boards the Castle of Lions and causes more than just equipment damage.

"Y-your eyes." Lance spoke quietly but didn't back away.

Shiro, however, had backed up just a bit more out of surprise; he just wasn't expecting to see solid golden eyes on his best friend. They were so bright they seemed almost… glowing.

Coran seemed completely unfazed. "It seems your eyes are probably close to completing their transformation."

"Why? What do they look like?" He probably could have figured out what they looked like, but at the moment Keith wasn't really think things through.

Allura leaned in a bit to get a better look. "They have taken on a bright, solid golden color." _They're… quite beautiful, actually._ She thought to herself.

Keith stood up, frustration hinting in his voice. "So, then, if they have fully changed, why can't I see, still?"

"Keith," Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, "I hate to say this, but we know about as much of this situation as you do."

Before anyone could say much else, the alarms in the castle started blaring. Keith had to grab his ears. The sudden loud noise caught him off guard; it was too loud. Coran immediately ran off to the control room; the paladins followed. Only Shiro noticed Keith wasn't moving. He was covering his ears, eyes squeezed shut. He tried talking to him, to help him through the sound. Coran was calling over the coms, keeping everyone updated on what was happening. Shiro heard but didn't respond.

Just as Allura was about to meet up with Coran, Shiro turned and called to her, "Allura! Can you get the alarms turned off?!"

"On it!" She ran off towards the control room.

Only a few seconds later, the alarms stopped. Keith's arms relaxed and he dropped them.

"Are you good?" Shiro asked. When Keith nodded, he explained what was happening. "Ok. A small Galra ship has been spotted nearby. Coran has already scanned the ship and no one is aboard. We think they may have gotten aboard the castle. You ne-"

"No," Keith stated firmly, "I am not going to just sit back while you all fight. You saw me just now, I can fight, too."

"Keith-"

" _Shiro! Everyone has split up, can you check near the kitchen?!"_ Allura called over the coms.

Shiro turned and called behind him as he ran off. "Keith, stay here!"

Keith growled- like actually fucking growled. The loud, coarse sound surprised him a bit. He was pissed. He hated being left behind; he wasn't helpless, dammit! He reached the hallway and started towards the med bay. He didn't get very far before he heard footsteps he didn't recognize. He spun around and took a defensive stance. He summoned his bayard and it transformed into his sword. He waited and listened as the intruder continued to approach. He heard their pace quicken and suddenly rush forward. As the first attack came down, he dodged to the side, flipping like he did in training earlier. This time, however, as he tried to attack from behind, his opponent dodged just as quickly as he did. Shock rooted Keith to his spot. He couldn't hear as well now. Something about this opponent seemed quicker, quieter. He didn't hear them when they attacked from his front. He suddenly felt a sharp sting in his shoulder – no, that's an understatement. He felt a blade pierce deep through his left shoulder. Everything around him suddenly seemed to be muted. He wasn't sure how long he was like that, but when he finally came to, he could hear someone screaming. That was all he could hear: an ear piercing scream. Faintly, he realized it was him. He blindly reached up and felt the knife protruding out of his shoulder. Just as he was about to try and pull it out, someone stopped him. There was a hand on his, removing it from the dagger. He realized they were saying something; it took him a minute to make out what, exactly.

Finally, he heard them. "Keith, wait." They spoke softly to him. "You can't pull it out until we can stop the bleeding."

His hearing was slowly coming back. He heard others somewhere in front of him. The clash of weapons and blasters filled the air around him. Whoever was in front of him had leaned him against a nearby wall. He was on the ground? When did that happen? He blinked slowly and began to realize his vision was no longer completely black at the moment. It seemed to fade to a dull grey, faint movements could be seen. Still, nothing could coherently be made out. He heard some of the footsteps getting further away. There were less people now, and he was beginning to lose consciousness. A shadow appeared in his limited vision. He felt himself being lifted off the ground just as he was shrouded by darkness.

* * *

Lance hooked his arms behind Keith's back and beneath his knees. As he was lifting him up, he saw those golden yellow eyes slowly drift closed. He struggled a bit trying to stand back up but eventually began towards the med bay.

"How is he?" Hunk kept the lead in case the intruder came back.

"Not sure. He's already passed out, most likely from the pain. We've got to get him in a healing pod." Lance tried to rush, moving as fast as he could with the weight of Keith slowing him down.

"You know, maybe we should just put his name on one of the pods. 'Reserved for Keith' since he seems to always be in one." Hunk smiled softly.

They reached the med bay and found Allura just inside. She almost had a heart attack when she saw Keith. "Oh my stars! What happened?!"

"Apparently Keith tried to fight the intruder on his own." Lance was beginning to feel the strain on his arms. When he turned to put Keith in a pod, he froze at what he saw. All the pods had been destroyed or damaged in one way or another. "Allura, wha-"

"The intruder." Allura rushed over to a nearby medical bed and gestured for Lance to lay Keith down. "He came here soon after he destroyed the control room. I guess he wanted to make sure we could not use our pods."

Lance laid his friend down. "How can we stop the bleeding?"

Allura immediately got into urgent mode. "Hunk! Over there in that cabinet, there are some rags, bring several over. Lance, over there, there is a large metal case; bring it as well please." By the time she finished speaking Hunk was already at her side with a stack of rags. Allura motioned for him to set them on a table next to the bed. She grabbed one and held it at the base of the blade, against the wound and motioned for Hunk to hold it there. "Hunk, on my count, I'm going to pull the knife out." Hunk nodded and she grabbed the hilt. "1… 2… 3!" As Allura pulled on the knife, Keith's face scrunched in pain and his back arched; he let out a scream. As soon as the knife was free, Hunk pressed the rag against the wound to keep it from bleeding out. Lance arrived with the case and she gestured for him to open it. Inside was what looked like a narrow metal cylinder with some kind of nozzle on one end. She pulled it out and clicked something. A green flame emerged from the nozzle.

"That's a blow torch! What are you doing with that?!" Lance exclaimed.

"A what?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. I need to cauterize his wound."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Keith, he always seems to be getting hurt. *sigh* Well… Here's hoping he finally gets to see again. :) Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	13. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith recovers from more than just one injury with the help of Allure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I didn't get a chance to update yesterday, but here it is!

Shiro and the others had arrived just in time to see Keith fall to the ground with a knife in his shoulder. Lance and Hunk ran to Keith and Shiro and Pidge ran straight ahead and fiercely began attacking the Galra soldier. This single Galra soldier proved to be quite a challenge for the paladins. The soldier ran off down the hall and Shiro and Pidge followed. Hunk saw that Keith was trying take the knife out.

"Lance, stop him. He'll bleed out if he pulls it out now." Hunk knelt down beside the two.

Lance placed a hand on Keith's to stop him. He spoke softly to him. "Keith, wait. You can't pull it out until we can stop the bleeding." He had to get him into a pod. Keith passed out just as he lifted him from the ground.

* * *

Shiro and Pidge chased the soldier down the halls. The Galra was too fast for them to catch up. When he finally stopped, it was in front of an air lock. Before the two paladins could stop him, the soldier shot himself out of the airlock, eventually making it back to his ship and fled.

Shiro and Pidge stopped, panting. "Shiro… Keith…"

Shiro looked at her in realization. "Let's go!"

They both took of down the hallway, worried for their friend's safety. When they reached the med bay, they could hear Allura say something about cauterizing. They rounded the corner and saw Allura holding what looked like a blow torch and the knife that was in Keith. Keith's armor had already been removed and the black body suit had been cut off.

* * *

"You are going to have to hold him down. It is going to hurt." Allura's voice was heavy, but she knew it had to be done. Hunk and Lance got on either side and held Keith down. Allura lit the knife but not so much that it glowed red. She looked at the others and they nodded. She pressed the knife to the wound. Keith's screams filled the room and he fought against the grips on each side of him. Pidge turned and buried her face in Shiro. Allura held it for a couple of tics and removed it. "I'll have to do it a couple more times." The others nodded and she repeated. Shiro felt Pidge wince at the screams again. Allura repeated one more time. Tears began to roll down Pidge's face. Allura lifted the knife again. The wound had been sealed. She dropped the knife and staggered backwards. "H-he should be f-fine now." She sat down in a nearby chair.

Lance and Hunk let go of Keith. His face was scrunched and his breathing was labored. Lance's hands were shaking and Hunk just didn't know what to say. Pidge finally looked back. Lance had started to clean the blood from the wound with one of the rags while stroking Keith's hair and ears to calm him. That seemed to help; his breathing began to slow.

Everyone was silent until Coran entered the room. "I'm sorry, guys. That intruder had hit up the control room first and tried to destroy all the consoles."

Shiro looked alarmed. "Did he succeed? How bad was the damage?" Pidge was still holding onto one of Shiro's arms.

"Luckily no, as soon as the Princess and I had arrived, he took off running." He looked over and saw Keith passed out. Coran's face fell. "How is Keith doing?"

Allura stood up shakily. "He should be fine now. Unfortunately, this ship's medical supplies is a bit diminished; we have relied too much on just the healing pods. With those out of commission, there wasn't much else to do but to cauterize his wound. We should definitely restock on medical supplies, including a stitching kit."

Lance rung out the rag he was using and washed his hands; he walked over to join the others. "How long until he wakes up?" he asked, worry edging his voice.

Allura didn't miss the blue paladin's anxious face. "Now that the wound has been sealed, it shouldn't be long n-"

"No not- long- at all."

Everyone turned at the raspy voice and saw the half Galra sitting up with some effort. Hunk, who was closest, rushed over to him.

"Keith! Are you sure you should be getting up? What if you reopen your wound? What if you pass out? What if you pass out and we can't catch you and-"

"Hunk," Keith breathed in a slow hoarse breath and put a hand on Hunk's shoulder, "I'm fine, I promise." He stood up with a slight grunt and walked over to the others… with a bit of help form Hunk. "Allura," Keith put his hand out, looking for Allura; she took his hand. "T-thank you… for closing my injur- oof!"

Pidge and finally let go of Shiro and wrapped her arms around Keith. "Don't ever do that again, dammit!"

"P-Pidge?" Keith's arms lingered awkwardly in the air for a moment before wrapping around his youngest family member.

Pidge buried her face in him. "You can't see! You shouldn't have gone off by yourself! You could have been killed!" She made an effortless attempt to punch his chest.

Keith's face softened. "You're right. I'm sorry for worrying you." He put his hand out again and felt Shiro next to him; it gave him a sort of anchor to hold to. He kept hold of Pidge with his other hand. "Before I passed out, I think I started to see something, but everything was too dark."

"You think your sight is starting to come back?" Lance sounded hopeful.

"Possibly. I can't see anything right now and even before, everything was still grey and shadowed."

"You may just need some visual stimulation to help develop your sight." Allura walked across the room to a cabinet. She pulled out what looked like a smooth, metal cone. She came back over and pressed her thumb to the side of the cone; a light shone from the circular base.

"What is that?" Hunk looked at the devise with interest.

"This is a light used to check pupil responsiveness. The spectrum of the light also helps to improve deficiencies in eyesight. I'm hoping it will help Keith's sight develop a bit faster."

"Then why didn't you use it before?!"

Allura glared at Lance's outburst. "Because it has no effect on total blindness. It's because his sight is beginning to improve on its own that I thought this device might help." She turned to Keith; his eyes were closed. "Alright, open your eyes." Golden eyes shone in her direction. "Now, try not to blink." She passed the light over his eyes slowly.

He felt a sting as the light came into vision. Tears began to form from the stinging. He could see the light getting brighter as his vision slowly improved. The light suddenly disappeared. His sight wasn't quite back to 100%... more like 75%. He could make out the fuzzy, blurry, forms of his friends around him and a blur of blue and grey background. He looked at her. "Why'd you stop? I can almost see fully, again."

"It's not a process that can be done for too long, otherwise it can burn your retinas permanently." She put the light back in the cabinet.

"Oh! I know!" Lance flew out the door.

Everyone stared after him in stunned confusion.

He arrived back a few moments later. "Here!" He moved something out towards Keith's face. Keith leaned away when he saw something near his face. "Hold still, you damn cat." Keith's ears twisted in annoyance, but he stood still. Lance placed a pair of glasses on Keith's nose. They slipped right off, however, because his ears were higher than a human's.

"Oh, right." Lance bent the sides of the glasses upwards so they would rest above Keith's violet ears while the lenses were still level on his face.

Keith blinked, mouth open slightly, as his vision cleared. He looked at Lance. "W-where did you get glasses?"

Lance was distracted for a moment at the sight of Keith with glasses. He shook his head to get his mind back on track. "Oh. They were my sisters. I happened to have them on me when Blue took us to the castle." He grinned. In his mind, all he could think was _Wow, Keith looks good in glasses._

Shiro smiled knowingly.

* * *

The Galra soldier arrived back at the central command base. He was immediately summoned to Haggar. "Lieutenant Vent'ra, what was the extent of your mission?"

"I attempted to sabotage the castle's control room but was caught too soon. However, I did successfully destroy their healing pods, which should leave them vulnerable after any attacks."

"And the boy?"

"His development is exceling as planned."

Haggar smiled maliciously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is still the youngest and I feel would probably have some 'kid-like' moments. She is scared and Shiro is the oldest one and the 'father figure' so I believe she would naturally cling to him if she is that scared or worried about a friend. A bit of a teaser at the end. :) Also, I had someone suggest that Pidge might use Keith to study the strengths and weaknesses of Galra. Let me know if you have any ideas for his strengths or weaknesses! Until next time,  
> NyteXade


	14. Thinking of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories from Keith's past surface.

Click. The trigger of a gun was pulled back and pointed to a man's head. The man had just exited a convenient store when he found the weapon aimed at him.

"Give me your wallet!" The robber called, voice barely edged with mild panic.

The man held up his hands. "Hang on," he said slowly and calmly, "I-I have a son at home, please, d-don't do this."

"Not my problem! Give me your money! Don't make me ask again!" The robber shook his gun for emphasis.

"O-okay." The man slowly moved one hand to his back pocket to pull out his wallet. Just before he reached his pocket, he quickly moved forward and grabbed the robber's wrist holding the gun. He tried to wrestle the gun from him. A gunshot filled the air.

* * *

Not too far away and not too long later, a young boy awoke to blue and red lights flashing in his bedroom window. The eight–year-old slowly got out of bed and made his way down the hallway. By the time he got to the living room, the police were already knocking. The boy opened the door.

"Keith Kogane?" The officer spoke with a soft, sorrowful voice.

Keith nodded.

"We need to talk."

* * *

"Hi Keith. I'm Miss Teresa." The woman smiled sweetly down at him. "You'll be staying with us for a while." She gestured for him to come in.

He walked inside the new house. There were two other kids there, but neither paid him any attention.

"This is my son, Joshua and my daughter, Kailey," Miss Teresa introduced. The kids waved to him. "This is Keith." Keith waved back and the kids went back to playing. Miss Teresa motioned for him to follow her upstairs. He followed her to a door at the end of the hall.

Miss Teresa opened the door. "This will be your bedroom. You'll be sharing it with Joshua." She smiled and walked back downstairs.

He looked around. Half the room was devoid of any items or wall décor. The other half of the room was a complete mess. There were clothes scattered, old posters across the walls, and toys across the floor. He went in and sat on the empty bed unsure of what the future held.

* * *

Keith was in Miss Teresa's foster home for about eight months. He noticed Miss Teresa seemed to treat him differently than her kids. She was always so overly affectionate with Joshua and Kailey, but not him.

He changed foster homes twice in four years. They were all the same: run by a sweet lady who paid more attention to her own kid(s), the other kids paid him no attention, and he experienced little to no physical acts of affection. He quickly grew used to idea that physical affection was rare with him. The only contact he got was from adults that came to visit and would just shake his hand to meet him. He only accepted handshakes because it was _polite_.

* * *

Keith was now in sixth grade and it confused him so much to see other kids hugging or hanging on each other. He didn't understand how that could be comfortable. He became a loner at school; the other kids noticed how he would avoid any contact with others so they left him alone. Eventually he met Takashi Shirogane, a tenth grader. He was at a school event, due to the insistence of Miss Chloe (his current foster parent), when he bumped, literally, into Shiro. Being much smaller, Keith was knocked backwards to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Shiro held a hand out to help Keith up. Keith ignored it and stood on his own. Shiro shrugged. "I'm Shiro. What's your name?"

"Keith," Keith mumbled.

They got to talking and found that they both wanted to be a fighter pilot. To Keith, Shiro was amazing. He had straight A's in school, had already applied to The Garrison, and already knew a _lot_ about flying. After a bit, an older couple interrupted them.

"Hey, Shiro. Who's your friend?" The older guy asked.

"Oh, hey dad. This is Keith. Keith these are my parents." Shiro introduced them proudly. "Keith wants to be a fighter pilot at The Garrison, too," He informed his parents.

His father ruffled Shiro's hair and looked at Keith with a smile. "That's great! You could teach him everything you know."

"Where are your parents, Keith?" Shiro's mom asked sweetly.

"M-my foster mom is over there." He pointed across the crowd of people to a slender woman with blond hair and two kids following her.

"Oh." Shiro's mom's eyes widened slightly. She looked at her husband then back at Keith and smiled. "Well maybe you could come over sometime to hang out with Shiro."

Shiro joined in excitedly. "Yea! That would be fun! I have a lot of books on piloting!"

* * *

During the next several weeks, much of Keith's time was spent at Shiro's house. Shiro became Keith's idol. He wanted to be just like him. They quickly became best friends and he came to really like Shiro's parents.

One day, Shiro and his parents showed up at Miss Chloe's house. Keith greeted the family with enthusiasm. Shiro's parents started talking with Miss Chloe while Shiro was talking with Keith.

"What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you today?" Keith was practically bouncing on his toes, clearly happy about the unexpected visit.

"I'm really not sure." Shiro shrugged. "It was actually my parent's idea."

Before Keith could say anything, Miss Chloe interrupted. "Keith," she spoke happily, "why don't you and Shiro head up to your room?"

"Alright!" Keith chirped excitedly and ran off to his room, Shiro following.

They sat on Keith's bed talking about anything that came to mind. Keith was ecstatic to show Shiro everything he has done. He show him his model airplanes that he built and even some designs for a 'hovercraft' that he imagined up himself. Then he moved on to showing off the books that he has checked out from the library all about planes and flying. Shiro simply listened and smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. After a while, there was a knock at his door and the three adults came into the room. All of them were smiling.

"Keith," Miss Chloe spoke first, "We've got some good news for you."

Then Shiro's mom spoke. "Shiro, let me introduce you to your knew brother." She gestured to Keith.

…

Silence.

…

"Wait… what?!" Keith finally spoke

A huge grin spread across Shiro's face and Keith's mouth just hung open.

"We've adopted you!" Shiro practically yelled before hugging his parents and listing out several 'thank you's and 'I love you's.

* * *

After a few weeks with Keith, the family quickly noticed how he avoided contact most of the time so they tried to respect that. They assumed they had a reason for not liking to be touched and they didn't want to push the matter. When he first moved in, Shiro handed Keith a small box. Keith looked at him questioningly then quickly opened the box. In it, were some old, black fingerless leather gloves.

"These were my first pair of gloves." Shiro smiled at Keith's speechless reaction.

As Keith put the gloves on, a huge smile spread across his face. He would keep these forever. They became a very happy family and, to Keith, there was no greater big brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Keith and Shiro's past finally comes to light. I hope it is a good backstory. Keep the reviews coming! Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	15. Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladiins discover something new about their half-galra resident.

The castle was dark and quiet; it didn't seem like anyone had woken up yet. He hated thinking about what had happened to his father, but was grateful for meeting Shiro. His life wouldn't be the same without him. Keith sat on his bed staring at the old gloves on his hands; his vision had finally returned to 100% and was relieved to be rid of the glasses. He got up and went to his bathroom. He stared into the mirror, taking in his unusual appearance. His large purple ears twitched and flicked. His arms and legs were purple up to his elbows and knees. _Thankfully that has stopped spreading._ His spinal line was still purple down the center of his back. The tips of his fingers curved into pointed claws and his fangs grew long and sharp. Then, the sight he hated most, unfamiliar eyes shone a golden yellow staring back at him. He stared. Half human… half Galra… he still couldn't believe it. He snapped himself out of his thoughts and finally began to brush his teeth and get ready for the day.

Bang, bang! "Keeiiith!"

…Lance… _just what I need first thing in the morning._ He ran a comb through his hair and headed out to open his door. As soon as the door was open, Lance came right on in without invitation. He reached out and ruffled the hair between Keith's ears. Keith ducked under and bopped Lance on the back of his head. Lance rubbed his head and sat on Keith's bed.

"Why exactly are you here?" Keith stood with his right hand on his hip.

"I was just letting you know that Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk left earlier to a nearby planet. Coran says there are some great plants there for cooking so Hunk wanted to go. Shiro and Pidge just went along for the ride." Lance laid back with his arms behind his head, getting comfortable.

"Great, but that doesn't mean you can just make yourself at home in my room." Keith pulled the covers from underneath Lance and he rolled onto the floor.

"Geez you really are a temperamental cat." Lance stood up and dusted off some nonexistent dirt. "I was just gonna let you know they'll be back in a few minutes and Hunk left some breakfast for you." He quickly tugged at one of Keith's ears before dashing out his room and down the hall.

"LANCE!" Keith called down the hall but didn't bother running after him. Keith groaned then headed out down the hall.

* * *

Keith sat down across form Lance and began eating the breakfast Hunk left for him. A few minutes later, the other paladins had returned from their trip. They entered the dining room battered and bruised, each holding some kind of plant.

"What happened to you?" Keith put his food down, smirking at their exhausted faces.

"You look like you got into a fight with a pig… or four." Lance chuckled.

Pidge sighed. "Well… we found some of the plants Coran was talking about but-"

"But it turns out that most of those plants are the favorite food of a very unfriendly animal." Shiro interrupted

Hunk sat down at the end of the table. "That thing was huge. It was like mean and fast. It looked like a panther crossed with a…" he thought for a moment, "a rhino! Yea a panther-rhino. It charged at us so we dodged to the side and rolled; we got all dirty but then it went after Pidge. She jumped on top of it and it bucked her off like a horse! Shiro ran-"

"Alright, Hunk, I think they got the point." Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose as he sat down.

"It was pretty fun, though," Pidge shrugged.

Shiro sighed. "We need a break."

"Ooh!" Pidge's hand shot into the air. "Another movie night!"

"Yes," Shiro replied simply.

"Yea I guess you need something relaxing after all the craziness lately." Keith smiled.

* * *

A little while later, everyone was settled into the common with Big Hero 6 (hey, why not?) playing on an improvised projector. Lance, Keith and Pidge were all sitting on one end of the couch, in that respective order. Hunk was sitting on the floor, with his back leaning against the couch. Shiro and Allura were on the other end of the u-shaped couch. Coran was continuing to work on the damage the Galra soldier caused, so he didn't join them for the movie.

They were about 45 minutes into the movie when Keith fell asleep. No one noticed at first (he is a really quiet sleeper) until he started gravitating towards Lance. When his head landed on Lance's shoulder, Lance was a bit speechless. He had his hands in the air awkwardly. The others heard a small squeak from the blue paladin and saw what happened. They couldn't help but smirk. When Lance went to wake him up, Shiro gave him a look that could kill.

"Don't. You. Dare," he whispered while punctuating each word.

"Yea, Lance, he has been through a lot. Let him sleep." Pidge leaned back, watching Keith slowly fall into Lance's lap. She smirked.

"Who knew Keith was a cuddler?!" Hunk chuckled a bit.

"Awe! He looks so peaceful." Allura leaned her head on her hands.

Lance just sat there staring at the fuzzy purple ears in his lap. He slowly lowered his hands, one landing on the arm of the couch, the other on Keith's shoulder. Keith seemed to lean into Lance's touch. The room was silent for a moment except for the sounds from the movie. The others watches as Keith pressed into any contact he felt.

Pidge looked at Shiro. "Hey, you're his brother right?"

Allura spun her head around. "Wait! You're his brother?"

"Yea, adopted." Shiro shrugged.

"Right, but you lived with him. We," Pidge circled her finger, pointing at everyone, "know how he is with touching. He normally doesn't like it. But was he always like that?"

Shiro thought for a moment. "Yea… I think he has always been like that. He never liked physical affection."

Hunk put a hand to his chin. "I wonder if it's because of his foster homes."

"What's a foster home?" Allura was really confused.

The others continued their discussion; they explained to Allura what foster means and what happened to Keith's father. Lance just continued to stare at the sleeping Keith. His hand began slowly moving from Keith's shoulder to his ears. He didn't even realize he was moving his hand. Keith unconsciously tilted his head into Lance's hand and rolled onto his side facing Lance and the back of the couch. Lance softly stroked the top of Keith's head. He started to hear something… a low rumble coming from Keith. Lance's eyes widened and he grinned.

"Guys!" He whispered just loud enough to interrupt them. They all stopped and looked at him. He put a finger to his lips. "Listen." His voice shook, trying to hold back his amusement. "He's purring!"

Hunk put his hands to his mouth, stifling a giggle. Pidge pulled out a video recorder. Shiro and Allura tried hard not to laugh.

Keith shuffled a bit in his sleep and his ears rotated back from the pleasurable feeling. Lance started rubbing his ears individually. Keith seemed to _love_ that.

"Oh man, this is good." Pidge was still recording but she hadn't realized how loud she had said it.

Keith's eyes fluttered open and Lance moved his hands. Keith sat up slowly, feeling very groggy. He blinked his heavy, half closed eyes a few time.

Lance froze. "Uhh…" He looked at the others for what to do. They seemed just as speechless as him. Keith didn't seem to fully comprehend the situation at the moment. Lanced reached a hand up and started stroking his ears again. Keith closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. Keith fell right back asleep and laid back down. The movie credits scrolled across the screen behind them.

"Now what?" Hunk asked.

"He seems pretty exhausted. I bet all the events lately have finally caught up with him." Pidge finally stopped the video.

Shiro nodded and stood up. "I'm gonna put him to bed." He lifted Keith and headed off to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff! Anyway… So, there's the more vulnerable part of Keith, something he will never admit to. I like the thought of a touch deprived Keith. Now the others are finding out just how bad he really does need some physical affection once in a while. Let me know what you guys think about this. Until next time,  
> NyteXade


	16. An Unspoken Agreement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith needs a solution to his touch deprivation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright Klance fans! Get ready for some MAJOR FLUFF!

The few days that followed the movie night, the paladins began to notice Keith seeming even more distant. What they didn't realize was that Keith had overheard them talking about what happened. He began to get curious about what he had done. So one night, while everyone was asleep, he pulled up the security video from that night. His face turned hot and beet red at what he saw. _I can't believe I did that!_ He stood there for a minute, staring at his sleeping form in Lance's lap. Then he heard it… _I purred?!_ He dropped into the chair behind him, frozen in embarrassment. _I am never going to live this down_. However, he began to realize how much he really did miss his father's hugs and hair ruffles… it was the little things. He missed jumping into his arms after finally catching his first ball. He missed the pats on the back after getting good grades in school. He missed the physical affection. After his father passed, he stopped receiving things like that. Now he realized his desperation for contact was beginning to come out unconsciously. He couldn't have that happen again, not in front of everyone.

* * *

Lance woke to the sound of a soft knock on his door. He stood up, eyes half closed, and staggered to his door. When it slid open, he found a red-faced, shy looking Keith standing in front of him. That opened his eyes.

Keith had found himself at Lance's door after he left the control room. It wasn't where he had intended to go, but somehow ended up there. He had knocked on the door, not really expecting Lance to even be awake. When he actually answered, Keith wasn't even sure what to say. He just stared at the ground, arms wrapped around himself.

"Uh…" Lance stared at Keith for a minute before he shook his head to focus. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

For a moment Keith didn't even move. Then he slowly walked forward and just leaned into Lance's warm chest, without saying a word.

Lance flinched. He was _not_ expecting that. He felt Keith begin to shake, mumbling something about missing his father. Lance began to understand. He wrapped his arms around him, holding him in a tight, comforting embrace. He guided the half-Galra into his room where they sat on his bed, Lance still holding him. He began rubbing his back and it seemed to calm the red paladin. He thought back to the movie night, how Keith had pressed into his touch, how he seemed desperate for contact, how he began purring when lance stroked his ears. He smirked softly at that thought but he knew that that meant it was calming and comforting for him. He turned his attention back to the furry in front of him… yes, he called him a furry. His breathing started to even out. Lance started to turn him around. Keith seemed to just move with the motion without even thinking. He sat cross-legged, head down and tired. Lance began massage his back and shoulders. He felt Keith lean into his touch as he slowly fell asleep, still sitting up. Lance slowly laid Keith down. Lance laid down next to him facing the opposite way, respecting his space.

* * *

Keith woke up to find himself in an unfamiliar room. After realizing where he was, he quickly jumped out of bed. _How the hell did I end up in Lnace's room?!_ He looked around and noticed he was alone. He sighed. He wracked his brain, trying to remember what happened last night. His eyes widened and he felt heat climbing the back of his neck. He shuffled out of the room and headed to the dining room, staring at the floor. When he arrived, he was surprised to find he was the last one awake. Lance was helping Hunk set out some plates for breakfast. Shiro and Allura were already at the table with some food, talking. Pidge and Coran were discussing some project she was working on while waiting for their food. Keith quietly sat at the table, thankful that no one paid him any attention.

Lance walked out of the kitchen and smiled when he saw Keith sitting down, quiet and reserved. He walked over and placed a plate of food in front of Keith. He ruffled his hair between his ears, calling a cheerful "Morning' Keith!" as he walked away to his own seat. He noticed Keith didn't duck away this time but did look a little surprised. Though, he could swear he saw a hint of a smile on Keith's face.

Keith was grateful that Lance hadn't said anything about their 'comfort session' last night. A small smile appeared at the hair ruffle, reminding him of what his father used to do.

* * *

A couple days later, they all had a long day of training and Keith could feel himself easily getting agitated. He found himself back in front of Lance's door that night. Lance opened the door sleepily and allowed him in. He sat with Lance on his bed that night, receiving another massage.

Lance was patient with Keith. He knew he needed this but was uncomfortable talking about it. He stayed silent as he rubbed Keith's back and shoulders until he fell forward onto the bed. They slept again that night facing opposite ways.

* * *

They eventually fell into a routine. Keith would show up at Lance's door every few nights or so. They would sit on his bed until Keith felt tired, then would lay back to back. Lance would ruffle his hair once in a while during the day 'cause he knew, even if he wouldn't admit it, Keith found comfort in it. One night, when they laid down after Lance's massage, Lance made a decision. He faced towards Keith and gently wrapped an arm around him. When Keith didn't shake him off, Lance took that to mean he didn't mind. After that, they laid together each night like that, Lance comfortably embracing Keith in his arms. It became a silent agreement between the two paladins. Lance was patient with him and gave him contact anytime he needed it. Keith appreciated that Lance never spoke about it and just accepted that this was something he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you enjoyed this fluff piece. I really didn't intend for this to be a Klance fic when I first started writing but… here I am! Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	17. A Dangerous Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith comes up with a very dangerous idea. (I know, kinda self-explanatory)

During training one day, Keith had to suddenly grasp his ears as a high pitched tone filled the air. To him, it was annoyingly and uncomfortably unbearable. He dropped his sword and was thrust backwards as the training robot continued to attack. The sound was inhibiting his thinking, and he couldn't fight back. He was kicked in the side and rolled across the floor. As the sound continued, the pain in his ears only grew worse.

Shiro was walking past the training deck when he saw Keith being attacked by the robots without fighting back. He ran in and used voice command to stop the training session. Keith was on his knees and elbows, pressing his ears closed with his hands and head tucked between his arms.

"Keith? Keith, what's wrong?" Shiro knelt next to Keith, placing a hand on his back.

Keith felt someone next to him but didn't look to see who. He started yelling out, "The sound! Make it stop! It's too much!"

Shiro's expression was mixed with concern and confusion. "Sound? Keith, what sound? I don't hear anything!" He sat Keith up against a nearby wall.

Keith started scratching at his ears, his claws digging into the back of them, drawing streams of violet blood.

"Keith! Stop! You're hurting yourself!" Shiro grabbed his wrists and moved his hands away.

Keith's face scrunched in pain and his head dropped forward. Suddenly, however, the sound stopped. His face slowly relaxed as he fell forward, leaning his forehead on Shiro's shoulder. His ears pressed flatly backwards.

Remembering the movie night and how much Keith actually needed to feel contact, Shiro began rubbing his back and felt Keith lean into the touch… probably without even realizing he was. "Are you alright now?" Shiro asked worriedly.

Keith sat up. "Y-yeah. What was that?" He rubbed his ears and noticed a small amount of blood on his fingers.

"I don't know. I didn't hear anything." He helped Keith to his feet. "But I think we need to find out before it happens again." On their way out of the training deck, Shiro grabbed Keith's hand towel and held it against his ears.

* * *

"Stop touching that Hunk!"

Hunk groaned and drooped into his chair. He and Pidge were both working on different projects, but he kept getting curious about Pidge's. "What exactly are you working on? Is it something for your lion? Oooh, maybe it's laser eyes, or-or something that will change the color of your lion!"

"Why would I change the color?" she asked without looking up from her work, "I am the _green_ paladin. Anyway, it's neither of those." She clipped a wire on her device and connected it somewhere else. "Actually, I'm trying to build a new Rover."

"Oh, your little pet robot? That's cool." Hunk continued on his own project.

"What are you working on?"

"Oh, I'm trying to create a smaller version of the blue lion's sonic cannon." He held up a hand like a gun. "It'll be like a little sonic weapon that can blow enemies away! Pew! Pew!" He pretended to shoot around the room.

"Hunk… That's not what a sonic weapon would sound like." She was unscrewing a small panel on her robot when Shiro and Keith had entered their little work room. Pidge looked up. "Hey guys. What's u- What happened to your ears?"

Keith just sighed and Shiro began to explain. "That's kinda what we came here for. Did either of you hear some kind of high pitched sound a moment ago?"

Pidge looked accusingly at Hunk. "What? Me? B-but I didn't hear anything!"

"Neither did I, but you are the one messing with sonics." Pidge pointed to his project.

"Ooh, riiight." Hunk tuned to look at Keith. "I'm sorry. Did it hurt your ears? It didn't do that, did it?!" He motioned to the blood stained towel.

Keith pulled the towel off. There wasn't a lot of blood, but enough to stain a good amount. "No… Well, not really. I did that myself."

"He did that _because_ of the sound." Shiro ignored the look he got form Keith. "That's why we need to figure out what happened."

Hunk held up a hand. "Oh. That was my bad. I was trying to make a sonic weapon."

"Like Blue's weapon?"

Keith felt a soft pat on his back.

Lance sauntered into the room. "I always knew my lion was important." He waved a hand though the air. "Making way for new inventions and new creations."

Keith rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then, a thought occurred to him. He walked over to Hunk, ignoring Lance's boasting. "That weapon is actually a good idea."

"What? Why? If it's going to affect you, we shouldn't have it." Pidge looked at him, confused.

"But that's exactly why we _should_ have it."

"Huh?" came a chorus of voices.

Keith sighed. "Look. If it is affecting me, imagine how it would affect other Galra." His original idea seemed to expand as he thought of something else. "Pidge! You could use me to find Galra weaknesses!"

Pidge was speechless. Unfortunately, Lance wasn't. "Woah, woah, woah. That is _not_ a good idea. In fact, this has 'bad idea' written all over it! You are _not_ doing that."

"Why not?" Keith snapped.

Lance looked at him like he just spoke French or something. "Okay, think about what you just said and what happened. You want Pidge to test you like a lab rat to find your weaknesses." He stopped, waiting for Keith to realize the dangers of this idea.

"…And?"

Lance threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Lance is right, Keith… I can't believe I just said that." Shiro pinched his nose then looked at Keith. "This idea is very dangerous and you could get hurt."

Keith groaned. "Okay, I know what I'm doing and I know my own limits. If doing this can help the team beat some Galra asses, I want to do it!"

Pidge stood up. "Keith… has a point; this could really help us. We can make the tests safe and controlled and stop if it becomes too much."

Keith waved his hands at pidge, glad for the support.

Shiro pinched the bridge of is nose again. By this point, he knew there was no changing Keith's mind. "Fine," he sighed, "Do it but don't get hurt in the process."

Keith smiled.

As Shiro was leaving, he leaned over and whispered to Pidge. "Don't let him push himself too far, 'cause I know he will try to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the experiments begin! The next chapter may be up pretty soon just 'cause it follows right after this one. So, until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	18. Lab Rat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith takes the experiments too far and Lance is fed up with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is still alive. :) Reviews have been slow lately, on both of my stories. Is it getting boring? I promise there is exciting parts coming! XD

Finally with the approval of Shiro, Pidge and Keith begin their tests and experiments. Shiro left to find Allura and Coran. Not everything had been repaired since that Galran intruder. The healing pods, especially, needed work. Lance and Hunk decided to stay and watch, with the conditions that they stay to the side and out of the way.

Pidge had decided to start with his hearing, 'seeing as we've already started on that'. She sat Keith down in a chair and pulled out some kind of small device. It was a small, metal box with a single dial and a small… uh… it looks similar to a satellite dish.

"Alright, so this device will produce a pitch at controlled frequencies. I will test you first at a normal human hearing range. The average hearing range for a human is between 20 and 20,000 hertz. After that I will test you at a canine's average hearing range which is between 40 and 60,000 hertz. For a dog, however, sound stars becoming uncomfortable for them at about 25,000 – 30,000. After that, it starts becoming harmful for them."

Keith, and Lance as well, just stared at Pidge like she had just been talking Greek.

Pidge sighed. "I will use different sounds to test the limits of you hearing and what may be harmful."

From behind them they heard, "Why didn't you say that the first time?!"

Hunk laughed and Keith couldn't help a small smirk at Lance's comment.

"Alright," Keith looked at her seriously, "you have to promise me, though, that you won't stop until you have the data you need to build a weapon against the Galra."

Lance and Hunk exchanged worried glances.

"But, Keith…" Pidge looked taken aback. "If I go far enough to harm a Galra, it will harm you too!"

"I'll live. We need this information and you know it."

Before Pidge had the chance to protest further, Keith sat down and gave her a firm look, ready to start the first test. She started her tests at 5,000 hertz. She turned the dial to said frequency. It was a high tone, nothing new and certainly nothing uncomfortable. Pidge kept notes on a tablet, recording Keith's reactions to each frequency tested as well as Hunk and Lance's reactions (unknown to them). She needs to be able to compare Keith's reactions to a human's. '5,000 hz: No reaction from either. Both appear and unaffected.' She turned the dial to 15,000 hertz. There was no reaction from Keith, but this time, there was a reaction from the other two. They both covered their ears; even Pidge flinched a bit. The best description of this sound would be those stupid 'mosquito tones' students used to play at the Garrison. They found it amusing that the adults couldn't hear this sound. Human ears begin losing the ability to hear tones close to 20,000 hertz as they get older. To Keith, however, it sounded almost no different than the 5,000 hertz. '15,000 hz: Keith appears unaffected, reaching an uncomfortable level for humans.' She turned the dial up to 20,000 and noticed one of Keith's ears flick. For her and the other two, however, it was nearly inaudible but began to give her a headache. She noted her observations.

"Alright," She finally spoke, "We have hit the limit of human hearing so now we will be getting into the range of a dog's hearing."

Keith simply nodded.

She turned the dial to 30,000 hertz. This time, his head flinched slightly and his ears flattened for barely a second before coming back up. "How uncomfortable is this frequency for you?" she asked.

Keith thought for a moment. "Well, it's not so much uncomfortable as it is annoying."

Pidge nodded and recorded her notes.

Apprehensively, she turned the dial to 40,000 hertz. Keith's ears flattened again and he squeezed his eyes shut. Though, Pidge could swear she heard him growling. "That gives me a headache," he said, rubbing his ears.

Pidge nodded. After typing her notes, she asked "Are you sure you want me to continue?"

"Yes," Keith answered firmly.

She turned the device up to 50,000 hertz. Keith immediately grabbed his ears, grunting in pain. Pidge turned the sound off. She marked her observations then said, "Ok, we are done with that test."

"No! I can take more! If I can take more, other Galra can take more!"

"But-"

"Do it."

Lance and Hunk's eyes widened. Pidge reluctantly turned it up to 60,000 hertz. Keith yelled and snarled, doubling over to the floor and grabbing his head. The sudden movement made Pidge jump and she dropped the device. As she scrambled to retrieve it, Keith's screams continued to echo. When she grabbed it, she fumbled to turn it off. Keith was left panting.

"Keith!" Lance was the first to run to his side. He helped him up off the floor and noticed a stream of deep purple blood trailing from his ears. "You're finished."

Keith weakly pushed Lance off of him. "I'm fine. Yes, my hearing test is over but we are still testing sight and smell, right?" He looked at Pidge for confirmation.

Pidge was speechless. She knew they shouldn't continue, but knew Keith would persist anyway. "Y-yea. Sight and smell."

"Pidge!" Lance looked at her incredulously.

Keith ignored Lance's protests. He was desperate to have something good come from being part Galra. If he was going to look like the enemy, he wanted to at least help defeat the enemy. He grabbed a towel and began to clean the blood from the sides of his face.

* * *

Testing his sense of smell wasn't near as dangerous. It was more of a giant game of hide and seek. They started with Lance hiding at different distances away from Keith, and Keith had to find him using his sense of smell. They kept going until Lance was too far away for Keith to find him. This ended up being about the distance of half the castle. After that, they ran the same experiment but with both Lance and Hunk. Pidge wanted to see how adding an extra scent would affect the time it took for Keith to find them. It did affect him, but not by much. He was still able to easily find both Lance and Hunk. At the end of that test, they wanted to see if soaking themselves would help mask their scents from a Galra's nose. Hunk doused Lance with water and told him to hide. This certainly made it more difficult for Keith. It didn't hide him completely, but gave Keith a challenge.

* * *

For his sight, Pidge put up a typical eye chart with the rows of different size letters. Keith called out the letters at increasing distances (a new poster was put up each time). They discovered, as Lance so eloquently put it, "He's got eyes like a hawk!" Which was true. Keith's eyesight was about 3-4 times sharper than a human's, which is similar to the eyesight of a bird of prey. When Pidge turned out the lights, Lance screeched. Keith just pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. When he opened his eyes, it took about a second for his eyes to adjust. Once they did, however, he could see his surrounds just as clearly as if the lights were still on. He heard another small squeak form Lance.

"What's wrong now?" Annoyance laced Keith's voice. He saw Lance and Hunk both staring right at his eyes.

"Woah!" Hunk looked to be in awe. "You're eyes are glowing yellow!"

Keith just blinked at that, but before he could think of a response, Pidge spoke from next to the light switch. "So what are you seeing right now?"

"Well, you know how night vision usually has a green tint?"

"Yea…"

"It's pretty much like that except with a yellow tint to everything. Other than that, I can see just as clearly as I can with the lights on."

Pidge nodded and flipped the light switch. As soon as they lights came on, Pidge saw Keith squeeze his eyes shut for a few seconds. "What happened?"

Keith rubbed his eyes then opened them slowly. "The brightness blinded me for a minute." He blinked a few times.

"Interesting. So during the time it takes for your eyes to adjust to the lights, you seem to be temporarily blinded." Pidge had a thoughtful look on her face.

Hunk pointed to Pidge. "Oooohh. I know that face. You've just got an idea haven't you?"

Pidge hummed. "Yea, I think I have an idea for another weapon against the Galra." 

* * *

Later, Pidge finished creating a prototype for her weapon idea. "It's similar to a flashbang grenade that police use back on Earth," she explained. "It simultaneously effects two of the Galra's weaknesses: sight and hearing. When thrown, it will flash a bright light to blind them temporarily as well as sound a tone at about 50,000 hertz. The tone will last about 10 seconds, enough to put them out of commission. You pull the pin, just like a regular grenade, and throw it." She looked at Lance and Hunk. "The sound won't affect us, but the flash can still blind us, though not near as long as it will the Galra."

"Let's test it."

Pidge looked at Keith. "No! I am not testing a flashbang grenade on a friend!"

"We have to know if it will work!"

"Keith! No, and that's final!"

Before any of them could react, Keith grabbed the prototype, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the air. He heard Pidge yell 'Duck!' to the others just before the object hit the ground. The flash immediately blinded Keith and the sound… oh! the sound! Keith was on his knees in a second. The sound that was only supposed to last for ten seconds seemed to last for hours. Keith was squeezing his ears to his head, his claws digging into his scalp.

Once the initial flash was gone, the others uncovered their eyes and ran to Keith's side. He was huddled on the ground, screaming. "Dammit, Keith! What the hell were you thinking?!" Pidge cursed at his idiotic stubbornness. They assumed the sound had stopped when Keith finally stopped screaming. He was still grabbing his ears, however. Lance and Hunk stood him up.

Keith finally dropped his hands, blood streaming down the sides of his face. "I-I-I fine, g-guys. A-at least we know i-it works." Keith smiled weakly and Hunk helped him to a chair.

"You are not fine! That was completely stu-" Pidges accusation was cut short when she heard a smack echo through the room. Keith's face was turned to the side and blood was smeared across his cheek from the slap. Pidge looked at Lance. His hand was raised with a similar violet blood smear across his palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Keith is definitely an idiot sometimes. I think Lance has finally had enough of his recklessness. Anyway, this was a bit of a longer chapter! Let me know what you think! Also, those who are in favor of a tail, it is coming so just be patient! XD Until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	19. Captured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins free a planet but don't gee the gratitude they were expecting.

Keith held a hand to his face, His ears turned down like a hurt animal. He could feel the sting across his cheek. He looked up to see Lance looking at him. Oh, if looks could kill! Keith has never seen the blue paladin look so angry before. But there was something else there too… worry? His ears rotated backwards looking guilty. The silence was interrupted before it could be broken by one of them.

"Guys, we've got a mission… uh, what happened?" Shiro had just walked in, seeing the scene before him. Everyone was standing around Keith, who was in a chair with blood down his face, and Lance looked pissed. Shiro shook his head, grabbing a nearby towel. "Never mind, I can probably guess what happened." He handed the towel to Keith, looking at him with a reprimanding scowl.

Keith took the towel without a word and began to clean his face. He could feel the blood starting to crust on the fur of his ears.

"Anyway," Shiro continued, "we have arrived at a nearby planet that has been colonized by the Galra. However, there aren't many Galra left on the planet. They colonized and moved on, leaving just enough soldiers to continue to enforce Galra control. Our job is to get rid of the Galra and free the planet. Hopefully, this planet will become an ally in our fight against Zarkon."

"Beware, though, because the only safe places on this planet are the occupied areas." Coran had just walked in, followed by Allura.

"Coran is right. The natives of the planet have erected a sort of barrier around their towns to protect them. Outside these areas is nothing but freezing lands covered in blankets of soft ice and harsh storms." Allura finished Coran's explanation.

"Soft ice?" Hunk asked. "You mean like snow?"

"Snow?" Allura and Coran chorused.

"Never mind that. Let's get moving," Shiro ordered, "Armor up!"

"Yea!" Everyone yelled then turned and left.

Just as Shiro was about to leave too, he turned and saw Keith trailing slowly behind him. "Keith? Are you alright?"

Keith was pulled from his thoughts when he realized Shiro was addressing him. "H-huh? Oh. Yea, I'm fine." He saw Shiro's eyes move upwards.

"Really? Cause your ears say otherwise." Shiro pointed to the flattened purple ears atop Keith's head.

Keith growled, cursing his lack of control over these things. This just made them rotate back in annoyance.

Shiro smirked. "Come on. Let's get ready."

Keith sighed, but nodded and followed Shiro out to the armory. Come to think of it, Keith hasn't even worn his helmet since he got these ears. _Will it even fit now?_ He wondered.

* * *

When they arrived, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance were all in full armor already and ready to go. Shiro made his way to his own armor while Keith started on his. Once his armor was on, he picked up his helmet. He stared at it for a moment before slipping it on. The helmet folded his ears down against his head uncomfortably. He bared his fangs in frustration and took it off. He put it back on, only half way this time. He slid his fingers into the sides of the helmet tucking one ear in then the other; he pulled the helmet on the rest of the way.

He heard snickering coming from behind him. "What?!" he growled.

They all turned away to hide their faces.

"Alright, guys. Let's get to our lions and head to the planet," Shiro pulled their attentions back to the mission at hand, "Coran and Allura will be in contact with us from the control room. Coordinates have been sent to each lion. We are to land just outside of their main city. We will find the Galra's main base and take it out. This should be an easy mission. Let's go!"

* * *

Shiro was right: it was a fairly easy mission. They found the Galra's main control base and took it out with the help of one of Pidge's flashbangs (Keith was very far away during that time). However, a distress call was made before they succeeded. Any soldiers that were in the surrounding areas had come, answering the distress call. The paladins were able to make it to their lions and easily fended them off. All the Galra retreated from the planed and the natives celebrated their freedom.

The lions landed in the center of the city and the paladins emerged to find a crowd of the natives surrounding them and cheering.

Lance removed his helmet and cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "Man! That _was_ an easy mission!"

"Should we talk about a possible alliance?" Hunk took off his helmet to wipe sweat form his brow.

Pidge and Shiro both removed theirs. "Why don't we wait till after the festivities to talk business?" the former suggested.

"She's right. These people have just been freed. Let them enjoy it." Shiro smiled at the cheering crowds around them.

Keith was the last to exit his lion. His helmet was already off, however, and the cheering died down at the sight of him. He froze when he heard what the people were saying.

"He's a Galra!"

"Scum! We don't want you here!"

"You don't belong here!"

"You should have left with the rest of them!"

Keith held up his hands and his ears flattened. "W-wait. I-I'm a paladin. I'm o-only here t-to help." He could barely hear the others defending him too. But their voices paled in comparison to the crowd people around them. Soon, they started throwing stones and rocks and anything else they could find. Keith dodged most of them easily, but one managed to just graze him, cutting chunk from the thin skin of one of his ears. Keith growled as he yelled in pain. The others were soon in front of him with their shields up. Keith looked up at his friends, even from behind they looked angry and the people showed no signs of stopping.

 _I did this_ , thoughts began running through his mind. _I should've known to leave my helmet on. Everything was going fine until I came out._ He began backing away. Ignoring what the others had to say, he turned and ran.

* * *

He wasn't sure where he was running to but he just kept going. Eventually, he came to the edge of the town and saw the barrier Allura mentioned. He didn't stop; he passed right through the barrier and felt a shiver pass down his body. As soon as he was on the outside of the town's protection, he saw nothing but white. Deep snow blanketed the ground and a blizzard was roaring around him. He didn't care. He kept running. The freezing air stung the bleeding gap at the edge of his ear. Very soon, however, he felt the cold temperatures getting to him. His body began to feel heavy and he couldn't keep his eyes open. He collapsed into the snow, leaving a deep imprint. He was soon almost completely buried in snow.

A dark figure emerged from the blizzard, looking down at the unconscious half-Galra. "I knew he wouldn't last long." The voice spoke to no one in particular. The figure lifted him up and began to walk in a different direction. She continued to talk to the boy. "Despite their appearance, Galra don't do well in cold temperatures. Without a druid's protection, a Galra's body falls into a state of near hibernation. In other words," Haggar smiled maliciously, "they become completely defenseless."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haggar has finally gotten ahold of Keith! What could she possibly want with him?! I know, of course, 'cause I'm the author. But have fun hanging onto that cliff there! XD Until next chapter,
> 
> NyteXade


	20. Drowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haggar begins her experiments on the half-Galra paladin.

Back on her ship, Haggar soon had the boy suspended in the middle of a large room. His ankles were tied together and his hands were cuffed above his head and hanging from the ceiling, still unconscious. Both his armor and black bodysuit have been removed; he was completely naked and in the hands of the enemy… and he had no idea. She began studying him, making notes of his appearance and transformation. She spoke her observations out loud as she recorded them for later use.

"His transformation appears to have halted. His Galra pigmentation has spread halfway up his limbs but seems to have stopped there." She pressed his top lip back. "His fangs seem to have grown in healthy but somewhat small. Their growth should continue with further experiments." The chain holding him up began lowering. When it stopped, his knees were bent and barely touching the floor. This left his hands at the perfect observation height for the witch. She observed his fingers, lifting each of them. "His claws also seem to have come in strong." She looked down at the top of his head and tugged harshly at his ears, examining them. "His ears have grown in large and seem to have started his fur growth as well. One ear seems to have been injured. That won't heal back fully." She tsked but smiled. "That piece of skin will always be missing." The chains lifted him back up and she walked around to his back. "Hmmm… no tail yet. It does seem, however, that his body is preparing for the formation of one. The pigmentation has spread down his spine and stopped at the base of his back."

A screen behind her flickered to life and Zarkon's face appeared on it. "Update, Haggar," he ordered, "What is going on with this half-breed?"

She turned to the screen. "Emperor Zarkon." The witch gave him a summary of her observations. "Half-breed though he may be, he is strong. I will make him into one of your greatest warriors."

"Be sure that he is, otherwise he is useless and should be disposed of."

"Of course. He just needs a little… kick-start." An evil grin spread across her face.

"Do what you need to do," Zarkon answered simply then ended the com.

* * *

Shiro looked back just in time to see Keith take off running. "Keith!" Shiro ran after him, but Keith was way too fast to keep up with. He made his way back to the other paladins. By the time he got back, the crowd had dispersed for the most part. He found the others gathered in front of the lions.

"Did you stop him?" Lance's worried voice was the first to reach Shiro.

Shiro looked at the ground. "No. He's just too fast."

"These damn aliens are so ungrateful!" Pidge clenched her fists.

Hunk put a hand on her shoulder. "Yea, but with everything the Galra has put them through, can you really blame them?"

"Hunk!" Lance's outburst made Hunk jump. "How could you say something like that?!"

"Yea! They had no right to treat Keith like that!" Pidge agreed.

"Guys!" Shiro broke up the arguing. "Hunk does have a point but he is not defending their actions towards Keith in any way. Right now we need to focus on-" He was interrupted when Red suddenly activated and stood up.

"Woah." Lance looked up at the red lion. "Keith must be in trouble for her to wake up." He looked at Shiro, concern took over his face.

Red suddenly took off.

"Everyone to their lions!" Shiro ordered, "Follow Red!"

* * *

Keith's body felt heavy and tired. He was slowly waking up; his eyes were so heavy. He blinked slowly and found he was on a Galra ship. Panic ran through him but only got worse when he realized he was hanging by his wrists and… naked! He instinctively pulled his legs up and brought his knees to his chest trying to cover himself. His body was still so tired, it took a lot of effort to keep them up. He looked around and saw that witch Haggar talking to Zarkon through a coms screen.

"Of course. He just needs a little… kick-start." He heard Haggar speak.

"Do what you need to do," Zarkon answered, then ended the call.

Haggar turned back to her subject to find him awake. "Finally conscious? Good, this will be more enjoyable now, being able to watch as you slowly lose your will to fight." She hit a button and he was suddenly dropped to the ground.

Keith felt one of his ankles give out on him as he landed. He let out a scream but was soon gagged and being dragged off. The floor scraped his back and he continued to grunt in pain. He was brought to a large room that overlooked a large pool of glowing yellow quintessence. As Haggar drew closer to the edge, Keith began to struggle. It was all in vain, however, as he still didn't have all his strength back and his ankles were still bound. She dropped him right at the perimeter, head hanging off the edge.

"This should complete your transformation. Soon you will be one of Zarkon's greatest and strongest." Haggar hooked another chain to the cuffs around his wrists and he was soon suspended above the pool of quintessence.

Keith looked down at her, eyes wide in fear and helplessness. His heart dropped as he was released into the pool. The liquid surrounded his body as he sank further and further down. He felt a stinging surrounding his body, like a thousand needles poking at him. He struggled to swim but his hands and ankles were still tied together. He could feel the air leaving his lungs, unable to get it back. Suddenly, the chain around his wrists was pulling him up. As he emerged from the surface, he gasped trying to regain his breath. He felt the cold air surround his bare, drenched body as he was once again suspended into the air. He looked down at the witch, panting and shivering. A grin spread across her face. He shook his head vigorously, not wanting to go back in. But he was dropped anyway, splashing back into the pool.

* * *

The paladins followed Red right through the barrier at the edge of town then continued. There was a half covered trail through the snow barely visible from the raging blizzard. Red rushed forward and eventually came across a Galra ship.

"It's the witch's ship so stay alert!" Shiro called to the others.

"We need to get in there!" Lance yelled.

"Yes, but we need to make it in unnoticed! So we need to stop Red form attacking!" Pidge and the others rushed forward to stop Red.

Red growled at being blocked. She wanted to get to her paladin!

"Red, we are going to save him! But we need to not be seen!" Shiro called to Red's coms. This seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Hey! I think she's understanding!" Hunk cheered.

"Yea," Shiro breathed, "Alright, let's find him." He and the other paladins exited their lions and made to infiltrate the ship.

* * *

Keith was pulled back out of the quintessence and suspended. His body hung limp and cold, and he was panting heavily, his whole body shivering. He's been dropped in and pulled out at least five times now. His arms were going numb from lack of blood flow. He looked over at the witch, eyes half lidded. She was about to release him again and he prepared for the drop. Instead, however, he heard shots and fighting just outside the room. Haggar growled in frustration. She turned just in time to see Shiro break in through the door, his eyes widened at the sight of Keith. Just as hope began to fill Keith, Haggar quickly turned back and released him before Shiro could stop her. He plunged back into the pool once again.

"Keith!" Shiro rushed forward, hand glowing and ready to attack. Haggar disappeared just before he reached her. "Coward!"

"Keith!"

"Keith!"

Lance, Pidge, and Hunk rushed into the room.

"Get him out of there!" Lance yelled.

Shiro hit the button that pulled Keith out of the yellow liquid and brought him to the edge.

"Oh my gosh." Hunk breathed and brought a hand to his mouth at the sight of his friend.

Pidge turned her face and clutched at Hunk. He hugged her; he always gave the best hugs.

Shiro lowered him down to the floor and removed his gag and binding. Keith could barely move; he could barely feel his own body. He slowly, weakly looked up at Shiro. "S-Shiro?"

"Ssshh. We're going to get you out of here." Shiro lifted Keith bridal style, quintessence still dripping from his body. "Let's go!" He and the others headed back out to their lions. Shiro rushed inside the black lion. His pilot's chair moved automatically into a laying position. Shiro laid Keith down and covered him with a blanket that appeared out of a nearby compartment. "Thanks, Black." Black gave a soft purr in response. Shiro opened the coms to Red and the others. "Red, we've got him. Let's get back to the castle!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Keith is saved! …well, maybe. There's no telling what Haggar did to him. Until next time,   
> NyteXade


	21. Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After realizing what's happening to him, Keith has a panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, guys, sorry it took so long. I was gonna update on Wednesday but I had a bit of technical difficulties with my tablet (which is where my stories are saved) and didn't get it working until now.

When they arrived at the Castle of Lions, Coran and Allura were waiting just outside the main hangar. As soon as the air lock closed, Shiro was the first out of his lion carrying Keith. The others were right behind them. Shiro ran right out of the hangar and kept going, making his way to the med bay. Coran and Allura followed as well.

"What happened?!" Allura called as she followed beside Shiro.

"It's a long story, but Haggar got ahold of him! I don't know what all she's done! Why couldn't I get in contact with the castle from the planet?!" Shiro spoke between breaths as he continues to run.

"Sorry, Shiro!" Coran was running along the other side of him. "All the connections to the castle were cut due to a malfunction with the repairs! I haven't been able to get them back online properly since that intruder destroyed them!"

"What about the healing pods?! Have those been repaired?!" Shiro rounded a corner.

"No, unfortunately we don't have all the parts we need." Allura spoke quietly but Shiro heard every word. "That intruder certainly knew what to destroy to hinder us the most!"

They all made it to the med bay. Shiro laid Keith on the medical bed. He also sent the others to wait elsewhere. They didn't need to see this right now.

"Luckily," Allura continued, "We have stocked up on some medical supplies."

Shiro stood back, catching his breath, as Coran examined Keith to determine the extent of his injuries. "How is he?" Shiro finally asked when Coran was done.

"Not good. He has a fractured ankle as well as cuts around his wrists and ankles from his bindings. There are scrapes down his back; they're covered in dirt and looks like he was dragged. Not to mention whatever the quintessence may be doing to his body." Coran began wrapping the cuts around his wrists and ankles. He cleaned the dirt covered scrapes on his back and wrapped his whole torso. He also put a cast on his fractured ankle. "There also seems to be a good chunk missing from one of his ears."

"Yea…" Shiro suddenly looked angry. "I'll explain that later."

"What exactly _is_ the quintessence doing to him?" Allura finally asked.

Coran dropped into a chair. "I'm not entirely sure. I can't get a proper scan without the healing pods."

Shiro heard stirring and looked to see Keith waking up. "Woah! Take it easy."

"S-Shiro, I'm fine." Keith sat up, with the help of Shiro, and realized he was still naked. "W-w-where's my clothes?" He stammered out.

Shiro showed a small smile before handing him a stack of clothes. Coran and Allura left for the moment as Shiro helped him dress. After, Shiro helped him to the lounge room to meet with the others, Coran and Allura followed. Everyone stood up when they saw them enter. Keith was had an arm around Shiro's shoulder and limped as he walked. His wrists and ankles were bandaged and overall looked like hell. Shiro walked him over to the couch and dropped him into it.

They all opened their mouths to say something but Keith intervened before they could get a word out. "Before anyone asks any questions, yes, I will tell you what I remember." His voice was heavy and tired. They all closed their mouths and sat back down, ready to listen. "Once I got outside the town barrier-" he began but was interrupted anyway.

"Wait! Why did you leave the barrier? Why were you even separated from the other paladins?" Allura couldn't help but interrupt with those questions.

"Oh, right. I guess I'll start from the _very_ beginning." He explained the whole story: how the mission was a success, everyone was celebrating until they saw him without his helmet, how they ridiculed him for being Galra and threw stones at him taking a piece of his ear, he felt scared and ran off, eventually making it past the barrier, he passed out in the cold, how he later woke up naked on Haggar's ship, she was talking to Zarkon but he didn't hear much, she dropped him causing his fractured ankle, dragged him to another room causing the scrapes on his back, how she plunged him in and out of the pool of quintessence several times, then Shiro and the others showed up.

There was silence for a moment. "Oh… the witch also mentioned something about trying to make me one of Zarkon's strongest soldiers." Keith stared at his lap as he spoke. He hated the thought of becoming an enemy soldier.

"That will never happen!" Lance blurted out. There were loud agreements from the rest of the group as well.

He gave a small smile to Lance but a sudden pain caused him to double forward. He felt pulses of pain running down his spine. Bending forward like that also stretched the scrapes on his back, which didn't help any. The pulses ran from the base of his neck to the base of his back rhythmically like a heartbeat. He felt hands on his shoulders as the others called to him worriedly. Then the pain just… stopped. He slowly sat back up but the others were just staring at him. "What?"

"Look at your arms," was all anyone could think to say and Pidge was the only one to say it.

Keith looked down and his eyes widened. The violet coloring of his skin started spreading again: it is now up to his shoulders. He lifted his shirt find that it has also spread to his torso. He couldn't tell how far, exactly, due to his bandages. He looked up at the others with wide eyes. "I really am becoming one of them." He spoke at barely a whisper, but everyone heard him. "Why is this happening now?"

Coran was the first to speak this time. "It seems the quintessence may have restarted your transformation. Until now, your transformation had stopped and it looked as though that was as far as it would go. However, after being submerged in the quintessence, it may be forcing a full change on your body."

"N-no. NO! This can't be happening! I-I'm not a full G-Galra! I shouldn't l-look like one!" Keith's hands began to shake and his vision began dot at the edges. His mind is going a hundred miles an hour and his chest feels like it's tightening. It's is suddenly getting harder for him to breath. His eyes are wide and frantic.

"Oh my God, he's having a panic attack!" Hunk begins to panic.

"W-what do we do?! We need to calm him down!" Pidge voice was starting to shake.

Shiro stayed composed but he was certainly worried. "Calm down guys. Panicking ourselves isn't going help him."

"It needs to be quiet and we need to get him focused on his breathing." As he spoke, Lance softly sat on the couch next to Keith. He grabbed his hands to keep them from shaking and began to speak calmly and softly. "Alright, Keith, focus on my voice. I need you to count to ten with me. Can you do that?"

There was no response from Keith and his eyes were squeezed shut. However, his panicking seemed to only speed up the process. As his breathing came out short and shallow, the purple spread up his shoulders and torso, up his neck, and finally… his face. The others' eyes widened but Lance put a finger to his lips to keep them quiet.

"Alright Keith, repeat after me if you can." Lance took a slow audible breath, hoping Keith was listening. "One… Two… Three…" He counted slowly, taking deep breaths in between. By the time he reached six, Keith was repeating the numbers, slowly. They finished counting to ten, but Keith wasn't calming down much. His hands were gripping his hair. "Keith, I need you to focus on breathing. In… out… in… out…" Lance continued repeating as he reached up and cupped Keith's uninjured ear in his hand. He began to rub his thumb up and down the edge, smoothing the fur. This seemed to work. Keith's breathing began to even out and his face relaxed. He dropped his head forward, eyes still closed. Lance looked up to see the others all staring at him. "What?"

"How did you know how to handle that?" Pidge asked.

"Oh…" Lance brought his hand down to his lap. "Well, my sister used to have panic attacks sometimes. I got pretty good at calming her down and bringing her out of it. It's just a matter of figuring out what sooths them, really. I know rubbing his ears helps Keith to relax." He looked at the now fully purple Keith, concern crossing his expression.

Hunk's mouth opened and closed a few times. He wanted to ask how Lance knew that about Keith but decided to just let it be. It seems the others did as well.

Keith's ears flicked and Lance took that to mean he needed more. He reached up and continued his stroking. Soon, Keith fell asleep into Lance's lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I wrote that well. There is a bit more Klance in here than I expected but there is still an actual plot, promise. There is so much more to come after this! Until next time,  
> NyteXade


	22. A New Appendage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As his transformation nears its end, Keith acquires something he never thought he would.

He didn't think much into it when he woke up in Lance's bed the next morning. Keith just figured it was another night of much needed physical contact. Lance was already gone so he dragged himself out of Lance's bed. His back, wrists and ankles were still very sore but luckily, the cast Coran put on his fractured ankle allowed him to walk with little pain. He headed out to his own room to get ready for the day. He couldn't recall much from last night. He didn't even remember coming to Lance for a massage this time. The last thing he remembered was… Keith's eyes widened.

He arrived at his room and went straight to his bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he began to panic at seeing himself completely violet form head to toe. He was a Galra. His back hit the wall behind him; he hadn't even realized he was backing up. He just stared at the mirror, not knowing that his panic causes his transformation to accelerate. The pulsing pain in his spine returned. He could feel the aching at the base of his back and his jaw. His back slid down the wall until he was on his knees.

* * *

Lance came out of his bathroom and noticed Keith gone. _Crap,_ he thought, _Keith doesn't know about his appearance!_ Lance ran out of his room. He didn't want Keith to find out on his own, fearing he might panic again. He reached Keith's room and found him on his knees in his bathroom. His teeth were bared and he was growling, almost snarling, in pain. Lance was calling out to him, but Keith didn't hear. Lance watched as Keith's fangs grew longer and his bottom canines also formed into smaller fangs.

The pain seemed to stop as Keith dropped his head panting. Lance helped him up. He grunted, still feeling throbbing at the base of his back. When he got up, he saw what happened. He was looking less human by the minute. The new additions in his mouth made him look animalistic. The more he panicked, the more painful the throbbing in his lower back. His view to himself in the mirror was suddenly blocked when Lance stepped in front of him. Keith saw his lips moving but his ears felt clogged. Lance led him away from the mirror and to his bed.

Keith suddenly felt a soothing sensation. His breathing began to even out, and he noticed Lance rubbing his ears. He closed his eyes, focusing on that feeling. He finally heard Lance talking.

"Breath. Focus on me. You're not helping yourself by panicking."

The pain in his back seem to subside. He leaned into Lance but the stroking continued. It felt nice, comforting. Finally, he took a deep breath and looked up at Lance. He didn't see any fear or hostility in Lance's expression. There was nothing there to indicate that he hated Keith because of how he now looked. Keith smiled softly. "I-I'm fine now… I think."

Lance dropped his hand to his lap. "Alright, well the others are worried about you so you should probably tell them that."

Keith didn't react to that. He wasn't sure what to say to the others or what they would say to him. But they were his family, and he owed it to them to give them a chance. "Alright. Just let me get dressed."

"We'll all be in the dining room," Lance smiled then headed out.

Keith got up and pulled out a clean pair of clothes and headed to his bathroom. He brushed his teeth and removed his pants to put a clean pair on. However, he finally saw what was causing the pain in his lower back. His eyes widened.

* * *

"Hey Keith!" Hunk greeted cheerfully as he got a plate of breakfast for him.

Keith smiled back and sat at the table with the others. They were all talking happily around the table. He heard Coran mention that most of the repairs had been finished and the healing pods are making progress. Allura and Shiro were talking but stopped when they saw Keith enter.

Allura sat her spork down and smiled. "How are you feeling, Keith?"

"I'm doing better this morning, thanks." He took a bite of his food.

"That's good, 'cause we've got some training today to catch up on."

The others groaned at Shiro's words, but Keith was grateful. He wanted things to just go back to normal, and he knew that's what Shiro was trying to do.

* * *

The next few days went by fairly normally: some training, a movie night, 'bonding' exercises, and more training. Keith still hadn't mentioned his newest change and preferred to keep it that way. For the most part, he did his best to ignore it, he hasn't even looked since the first time he saw it. There were a few more times he could feel the pain in his back, and it became increasingly uncomfortable as the days went by.

When it finally became unbearable, he decided to check again. He dropped is pants in front of his bathroom mirror and felt instant relief, but… He couldn't believe what he saw. The newest addition to his body that he saw a couple days ago, which was only about a foot long attached to the base of his spine, was now about three feet long and had a tassel of fur on the end. It looked much like a lion's tail… only purple.

…

He has a tail…

…

He has a _tail…_

Of all the things that could have happened with his transformation, he just _had_ to get a fucking _tail!_ He just stared. The new appendage swayed back and forth behind him. It just occurred to him that he could control it. He experimented a bit: lifting it up and down, curling it in. Then he remembered he was standing in front of his mirror with no pants on. A purple blush spread across his face, even though no one was around, and he pulled his pants back on. The base of his tail was just above the waist of his pants, leaving room to keep it out without causing discomfort.

He looked at the time: 2:53. Shiro wanted to fit in a training session at 3:00. Keith sighed. _Might as well get this done and over with._

* * *

Shiro and the others were waiting on the training deck for Keith to show up. _It wasn't like him to be late for training._ Shiro was beginning to get worried. When he finally saw Keith in the doorway, he stood up, relieved.

"Hey! Ready for some training?" Shiro began to approach Keith but stopped when he realized Keith looked distracted. He wasn't looking at anyone and was rubbing one arm nervously. Then Shiro realized he had a slight blush to his face. "Are you okay?"

At that, the others also noticed how Keith was acting. "Did something else happen?" Pidge inquired.

"Yea, I g-guess you could say that." Keith's ears flicked and rotated, showing off his nervousness. They weren't the only ones. His tail involuntarily swayed behind him revealing his emotions as well. Shiro tilted his head. He thought he saw something behind him. Keith saw where Shiro was looking and his blush darkened. Then, his tail swung in front of him. Though, Keith hadn't realized until he saw the others' eyes widen. He looked down and saw the tip of his tail flicking in front of him. Quickly, he grabbed it and held it behind his back. He looked back at the others and they were all grinning, surprised but grinning.

"Oh my gosh! You have a tail!" Pidge was the first to say it.

Shiro just crossed his arms, looking amused.

Before he even realized it, Lance was already behind Keith. "H-hey!" He felt him touching his tail curiously. "W-what are y-you doing?"

Lance smirked at how Keith got flustered. He noted how his tail flicked at the slightest touch. _It's sensitive_. He chuckled.

Keith turned around to face Lance and get his tail away from him. Lance stood stock straight and grinned. Keith then heard giggling behind him.

"Oohh, look. He's annoyed now." Hunk pointed to Keith tail which was now flicking, looking irritated.

Keith spun around again. He was getting more irate by the second. He kept twisting around trying to hide his tail form the others. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Shiro. "Alright guys. Give him a break." His voice was firm, but he was still smiling.

Keith shrunk a little. He knew the others would have too much fun with this, but it was still annoying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So he finally got his tail and the others are going to be teasing him for sure! So, I've fallen a bit behind on this story so I'm trying to get caught up on some writing so please don't kill me for being a bit late ^.^ Until next chapter (whenever that will be),  
> NyteXade


	23. The End of the Transformation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final changes of his transformation finally finish, which includes a full body of fur! But something else is changing as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait but I figured you would all prefer me to take my time and not rush the chapters. :)

A heavy sigh was heard across the table when everyone sat down for dinner. Keith could feel everyone's eyes on his backside, staring at the tail swaying behind him. This new addition to his body seemed to have a mind of its own sometimes and tends to give away his feelings. That is definitely something he is going to have to get used to as someone who typically hides his emotions. The tip of his tail began flicking in annoyance. His ear twitched when he heard someone snicker. He huffed but chose to ignore it for now.

Hunk exited the kitchen carrying some more food to add to the table. As he was passing behind Keith, he accidentally stepped on the tail sweeping across the floor. Keith yelped and growled, baring his fangs. Everyone's attention was now on the current situation instead of their food.

Hunk jumped back. "Keith! Oh m- I'm so sorry! I-I didn't see your, uh, tail."

Keith took a breath. "It's alright, Hunk. I'm fine."

Hunk watched as Keith's tail swung beneath his chair as though hiding. "O-okay." He continued to his seat and set the food down.

Keith's ears flattened when he heard Lance snickering across the table. "You find something funny?!" Keith snapped, a bit harsher than he had intended.

Lance sat up, straight-backed, surprised at Keith's outburst. "Uh, no. S-sorry."

Keith realized his mistake but said nothing. He simply went back to his food. The others said nothing and also continued eating. However, the next time Keith looked up, he caught Shiro staring at him.

"Shiro? What's up?" Keith asked with a mouth full of food.

"Well, uh…" Shiro thought for a second, "Have you shaved recently?"

Keith was a bit caught off guard with the question. "Yea, this morning. Why?" He reached a hand up and felt his chin. He was surprised to feel something like peach fuzz on his face and soon noticed it wasn't just his face but his arms too. He stood up from his chair looking over his body.

"Looks like you are finally growing some fur," Pidge pointed out. "I had a feeling it would happen eventually."

Keith looked at her, eyes wide in an almost panic. "But… Why? I am still half human! Should my transformation really be going this far?!" His ears were flat and his tail was curled between his legs.

Pidge's eyes widened as well, realizing what was happening. "Oh… I guess I didn't think about it that way."

"I think it's about time we got you in a healing pod." Coran stood up.

Distracted by Coran's suggestion, Keith's ears stood up and he looked at the older Altean. "What? Why? I'm not hurt or anything."

"No, but we also didn't get a chance to get you in one after coming back from the druid's ship." Coran tugged on his mustache.

Allura stood up next. "Coran is right. Now that the healing pods have all been repaired, we can get a proper reading on what the quintessence may be doing to your body."

Keith sighed. His shoulders slumped and his tail dropped.

* * *

Only minutes later and the Alteans and other paladins were all gathered around an unconscious Keith in a healing pod. Coran was typing away on a nearby computer humming thoughtfully every once in a while.

"So?"

Coran finally looked at the others when he heard Shiro's concerned voice. "Well…" he hesitated telling them what he found out.

"Please. I need to know what's happening to him. He is still my brother." Shiro knew Coran was holding back information because it wasn't anything good.

"There is still a great amount quintessence in his system. It seems to be completely overwriting his human DNA. Before this, his DNA had come to a balance of about 50/50% human and Galra. But now, the human side is being taken over. It doesn't seem like it can be completely eradicated, but it will certainly come close." Coran looked at Keith while speaking. He couldn't bring himself to see the looks on the others' faces at the news and didn't even want to imagine Keith's reaction.

The others were speechless. None of them knew what to say. It's no wonder Keith was beginning to look more like a full-blooded Galra. Coran had turned his attention back to the computer and found something else.

Shiro noticed the concerned look on the Altean's face. "What's wrong? Is there something else?"

The others took notice too. Coran hummed. "There… seems to be some kind of abnormality in the brain, but I can't figure out what it is exactly."

Everyone exchanges worried glances and a thick silence hung in the air a moment before Lance spoke up.

"So… Should we get him out of there?"

No one seemed to want to answer his question. They all knew they would have to break the news to Keith but were worried about how he would take it. It was _not_ going to go over well.

"Well, we can't just leave him in there." Shiro sighed.

Coran nodded seriously and hit a button, releasing the red paladin.

The pod opened with a hiss and Keith slowly opened his eyes, blinking away the bleariness. He stumbled out of the pod and looked around at the others. He could tell something was bothering them. His ears fell back and his tail was curling nervously. "What happened? Did you find something out?"

Shiro placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You may want to sit down for this."

* * *

Over the next few days, that 'peach fuzz' that covered his body quickly grew into thick, soft, violet fur. The others certainly had fun teasing him about his newest changes. Keeping this newly acquired fur clean was beginning to annoy the red paladin as he felt like he was shampooing his entire body plus and added appendage. It is definitely something that is going to take time getting used to. These changes also earned him the nickname 'furry' from Lance which only served to further irritate the resident Galra.

He constantly tried to not think about the news he had received from the others only a few nights ago. He had learned that panicking only seemed to worsen his 'condition' and therefore tried to stay calm. Though, hearing that the quintessence was overwriting his human DNA was not as big a shock to him as the others thought it would be. After his transformation had started back up, changing his skin further purple and growing more fangs, he had suspicions about what was happening. Nevertheless, it was still a shock to hear it confirmed. He decided it best to focus his efforts on his paladin training as well as calling out anyone who decided to tease him that day.

That morning, just when he thought he was finally getting used to controlling his tail, it has go and pull some stupid stunt. While sitting next to Lance at breakfast, his tail decided to snake its way around the blue paladin's ankle. At first, Keith didn't even realize what he was doing. When lance felt the soft tuft of fur, he sat frozen for a moment. He looked down and his eyes widened a bit in confusion. He tapped Keith's shoulder and simply pointed down. A dark blush spread across Keith's face as he removed the tail by hand. After that, he kept hold of it in his lap for the rest of breakfast.

After their training session later that day, Keith began heading back to his room for a much needed shower with most of his fur damp with sweat. He stopped right outside his door when he heard someone approaching behind him. He could tell it was Lance.

Keith didn't even bother turning around and his tail whipped out in annoyance. "I'm not in the mood Lance." He could hear the other snickering at the reaction of his tail.

"S-sorry," Lance tried to cover his laughing, "Really, I just wanted to make sure you were okay… or rather, your," he snickered again, "your tail."

Keith finally turned around, arms crossed and looking unamused.

"Okay, okay. But seriously, that training bot grabbed your tail pretty hard back there. Are you okay?" Lance actually looked sincere this time.

Kith let his arms drop. His tail wrapped around his waist and flicked back and forth in front of him. It really did hurt at the moment but he wasn't going to let on that it did. He hadn't even realized he was rubbing his tail until he saw Lance watching him. He quickly pushed his tail aside and turned back to his door, embarrassed.

"C-can I-"

He knew was Lance was asking but didn't answer. Instead, he simply lifted his tail behind him, allowing Lance to look.

Lance gently took the end of Keith's tail and slowly rubbed where the bot had grabbed.

Keith's eyes closed. It felt good and soothed the pain. It worked for a moment until someone came on the coms speaker and made the both of them jump.

 _'_ _Keith! Lance! We are starting a movie if you want to join!'_ Pidge's voice echoed through the hall.

Lance jumped at the sudden break in the silence and accidently pulled on the tail.

Keith yelped and growled, but it seem more extreme this time. He had fallen to his knees, panting and grabbing his head.

Lance backed up. "K-Keith! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

Keith stood up facing the blue paladin. His face was twisted into a snarl. His claws grew and his fangs bared.

"K-Keith?" Lance held his hands up as to not look threatening. He stared into bright golden eyes. Those eyes had no recognition in them.

Keith's expression changed from angry to angry and confused. "Who are you?" he growled out. "Where is this place?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter left! But don't worry, I am planning a sequel! However, it won't be up near as quickly as this one was after Connection. There will be a bit of a break before the sequel gets posted. Good news, though, I am also planning another Voltron story that should be posted soon. This is going to be a High School AU story. It will also be the first AU I've ever done so, fingers crossed it comes out good. :/ Anyway, until next chapter,  
> NyteXade


	24. Keith Attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith attacks Lance then runs off. There's not much to run off to when trapped on a space ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I got surprised with a last minute vacation to the beach so I've been gone a while. XD But I definitely had a great vacation! Now back to writing!

"Who are you?! Where is this place?!" Keith's coarse voice was almost a growl.

"K-Keith, but-" Lance took a hesitant step forward.

Keith backed up a step and growled, baring his fangs. He looked around the hal, taking in his surroundings. "What is this place?"

Lance didn't move this time. "But… you should kno-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was shoved against the wall with a clawed hand at his throat. "K-Keith!" Lance choked out.

"Tell me where I am!" Keith demanded. He loosened his grip just slightly to allow him to answer.

"You're i-in the C-Castle of L-Lions." Lance to get breath. His answer, however, didn't seem to help the red paladin.

Keith looked just as confused and angry as before. He seemed to be in his own thoughts as he let go of the other.

Lance slid to the floor, gasping. By the time he looked back up, Keith had disappeared. "Keith?!- Keith!"

* * *

The small Galra ran through the halls. He has no memory of this place but his body seems to know where it's going. He eventually ended up in some kind of hangar of escape pods. All he knew was he had to get out of there. He had to find somewhere he remembered. As he was climbing into one of the pods, something wrapped around his ankles and pulled him to the ground. The force made him disoriented for a moment, and he didn't notice the people surrounding him. He looked up to see six pairs of eyes on him. They were all talking, mumbling something he couldn't quite make out.

When he finally came to his senses he noticed that one of them, the smallest one, was pulling on a glowing green cord. His eyes followed the cord and he realized that's what's binding his ankles. He looked at the others again; they were still talking amongst each other. He launched himself up from the ground and at the green one.

* * *

After finding Lance gasping for breath, Hunk and Pidge tried to get him to a healing pod.

"I'm fine, guys!" His voice was hoarse. "We n-need to find Keith!" He took off down the hall and the others followed. They eventually found Shiro and the Alteans. Lance quickly filled them in on what happened. They all split up to look for him.

* * *

Pidge rounded a corner to find their Galra resident running into the hangar of escape pods. She radioed the others to let them know where she was then followed him inside. When she saw him climbing into a pod she acted quickly. She shot her grappling hook at him and it wrapped around his ankles. She jerked it back, causing him to fall to the ground. The others arrived at that time.

"What the hell did you do?!" Lance arrived to find a very disoriented looking Keith on the ground.

"Well he was trying to escape so I stopped him." Pidge argued.

"But why was he trying to escape? I mean I know Lance said doesn't seem to remember us, but shouldn't he stay and figure it out?" Hunk was ringing his hands, worried.

"It may be _because_ he doesn't remember," Shiro reasoned, "He is probably panicking."

"We may have to put him in a healing pod to keep him unconscious for now," Coran suggested.

"No." Allura crossed her arms. "We need to question him and find out how much he remembers."

During their discussion they failed to notice Keith regaining his senses. They didn't see him until he decided to luge at Pidge. He pinned her to the ground while everyone else was trying to pull him off. He was simply too strong for them. Lance, however, made a huge mistake when he tried to pull Keith off of her by his tail. It was the closest thing he could reach. He wrapped his hand around the tip and jerked backwards. Keith's head snapped towards Lance, snarling, and he swiped his claws at him. His long claws sunk into the flesh of Lance's arms and he staggered backwards. His screams filled the room and as he fell to the ground.

"Everyone backup!" Pidge ordered. They all did as told and watched as green electricity flowed down the cord of her bayard and coursed through Keith's body. They all heard groan of pain before he passed out. Pidge rolled him off of her and got to her feet. Everyone was staring at her. "What?" Their eyes went to Keith then back to her. "Don't worry, it was a low setting." She brushed off their concern.

* * *

A low groan sounded in Keith's ears. He blinked his eyes, trying to see clearly. As he sat up, he realized that groan was coming from him; his head was _throbbing_. After having a hard time sitting up, he also noticed that his limbs had been restrained. Some white and glowing blue restraints were ankles. He assumed the same could for his wrists, which were restrained behind his back. He looked up but immediately squeezed his eyes shut from the bright lights shining on him. He blinked slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the lighting. When he was finally able to see, he found himself in a small square room; one wall was solid glass. On the other side of the glass he saw those who were attacking him earlier. One with his arm in a cast. _That's what he gets for trying to pull my tail._ Keith huffed. Even through the glass, he could hear those people talking.

"He doesn't remember anything!" Pidge argued.

"Ok but that doesn't mean we need to keep him locked up like a prisoner!" Lance threw his good arm up gesturing to the caged Galra.

"Lance, look what he did to you," Hunk tried to reason.

Lance waved a hand. "That's my own fault. I should have known trying to pull at his tail could be a bad idea."

"So what should we do then?" Hunk wrung his hands together. "If we let him out he might attack us again. But if we keep him in there he might think he really is a prisoner!"

"We need to talk with him first." Allura stayed calm and composed. "To do that, though, we need to ensure our own safety as well as his."

"The princess is right. He needs to remain cuffed for now until we can reason with him." Coran tugged at his mustache.

During this discussion, Shiro remained silent and staring at the Galra behind the glass. No. Not Galra… his brother. But he no longer remembers Shiro. He watched as golden eyes stared back at him with no recognition in them. He hated that look. He hated that he no longer meant anything to his younger brother.

"Shiro?"

The sound of Lance's voice brought Shiro out of his thoughts. "I'll be the one to talk to him," he finally said. No one said anything in protest. They simply watched as Shiro entered the small room, allowing the door to shut and lock behind him.

Keith was sitting against the back wall with his knees pulled up to his chest and hands cuffed behind him. His tail lay curled beside him. When he saw Shiro he turned his head away. Those large ears on either side of his face turned back in annoyance and the tip of his tail flicked.

Shiro knew the signs of a cornered and agitated animal and Keith was showing all of them. He had to approach this cautiously. He sat crisscross on the floor in front of Keith. "Hey, Keith," was all he said. Keith still refused to talk to him or even look at him. With no response, Shiro continued. "We aren't here to hurt you. We are only trying to help."

Keith glared at him. "Is that so?"

Shiro nodded.

"They _why_ am I chained up like this?" Keith tugged his ankles and wrists to emphasize the cuffs on him.

Shiro sighed. "You're right." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key card. He stood up and approached Keith; he flinched away from him, snarling. Shiro held out one hand to show he meant no harm. He held out the key card against the ankle cuffs. They beeped and released. He did the same with his wrists. Shiro sat back down and watched at Keith stared at him wide eyed and rubbed his wrists. Keith's ears flicked and he suddenly snapped his head up. Shiro followed his gaze and found that he was looking at the others through the glass.

Hunk and Pidge both had their mouths hung open. Lance had his arms crossed but still had slight worry in his expression. Allura and Coran looked disapproving.

"They don't look too happy that you let me go." Keith crossed his legs as well, facing Shiro.

Shiro turned back to him. "Well, they can deal with it. I trust you."

Keith narrowed his eyes at that. "Yeeaa… Why exactly do you trust me so much? You don't know me."

Shiro shook his head. "No. You just don't remember me. You are my little brother." He smiled softly but sadly.

Keith huffed and crossed his arms. "You're right. I don't remember you, which makes you nothing to me." He looked away.

Those words hit Shiro hard. He felt as though he'd been stabbed in the heart. His eyes began to burn. "I-I g-guess-" His voice came out cracked. He cleared his throat and tried to speak again. "I guess y-your right." He stood up and made to exit the room. Just as he reached the door, he heard a fast beeping coming from behind him. He turned to see Keith just as confused; he was scratching at the back of his neck. Shiro ran to him and pushed his head forward to look at his neck. There was a small red light flashing beneath his purple skin. Shiro ran his fingers across it and he could feel a small square device just beneath the surface. His eyes widened.

"Hold still! This is going to hurt!" Shiro felt Keith flinch but didn't give him enough time to really react to what he said. In less than a second, he powered up his arm and used two fingers to burn the device implanted in his neck. Keith screamed but it didn't last long. The device was removed but Shiro knew it was too late. He turned and ran out the door.

"They were tracking him!" he yellowed to the others. "Haggar must ha-" There was an explosion that rocked the whole ship, knocking them all off balance. Shiro stood up. "Lets go! They're here for Keith!"

They all followed Shiro out of the room. Leaving Keith attacking the glass trying to get out. Only seconds after they left, however, someone else entered the room. Keith stared at her. _She… she has purple skin… like me._

A vicious smile spread across the druid's face. Haggar looked up at the young Galra. "I'm here to take you home, young soldier."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished the last chapter. It came out a bit longer but oh well. XD I AM planning a sequel so just give me time to start writing it. Until then, I've got another Voltron story I will be working on as well as my Blue Exorcist story. I hope everyone has enjoyed this story and is looking forward to the next installment! I know I am! Until next time,  
> NyteXade  
> P.S. I might have a small surprise coming soon as well.


	25. Bonus Chapter: So, This Probably Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone decides Keith is most definitely... a cat.

_Sometime during chapter 23:_

Some muffled snickering echoed through the hall. Pidge and Lance were sneaking up to the common room with something concealed in Lance's hand. The taller jabbed a thumb in the direction of the room and Pidge nodded. They both snuck into the room where quiet, rhythmic breathing could be heard. Their resident furry (according to Lane) was sprawled across the couch, fast asleep. The two paladins peeked over the back of the couch, still trying to hold back their laughing. Lance cast a glance at Pidge and she nodded, grinning hugely. Lance reached over the couch and tied something around Keith's neck. Then they promptly ran out of the room.

The woosh of the door shutting woke Keith up. He blinked away the sleepiness and slowly sat up. When he did so, he heard a ringing. He blinked again and shook his head. There it was again; it sounded like a bell. He reached up to his neck and growled. His ears flicked as he heard snickering coming from down the hall. He ripped the bell off his neck and stormed out of the room. He found the two paladins sitting with their backs against the wall trying to hide their uncontrollable laughing. They hadn't noticed the Galra looming over them until he chucked the bell at Lance's head.

_KONK!_

Keith turned and walked off. "I'm not a fucking cat!"

Pidge was holding her gut in hysterical laughter, pointing at the knocked out Lance on the ground. A lump was forming on his head.

* * *

Hunk just finished serving breakfast. Lance was the only one who hadn't shown up to the table yet. Though, nobody wanted to wait for him so they all started eating anyway. When he finally did show up, he arrived in a blue bath robe, lion house slippers, and a green face mask on. He sat down next to Keith and began eating. Unnoticed to Keith, Lance cast a quick wink at Pidge and Hunk.

A little while later, Lance stood with his empty plate and proceeded into the kitchen. He came back out empty handed. As he walked behind Keith, he paused and held a finger to his lips for the others to see. Everyone was looking at him but Keith never noticed. Lance reached a hand up and began stroking Keith's hair between his ears. Pidge slapped a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter at Keith's reaction.

Keith's eyes closed and he leaned into the touch. He began to purr. At that, everyone else also had to cover their reaction. Lance began to scratch behind his ears; Keith's mouth opened just slightly and his ears laid down in pleasure. Lance suddenly felt something on his waist; he looked down to find a purple tail wrapped around his waist. Distracted, he hadn't realized he stopped petting Keith. Keith opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him, mouths covered. Then he saw them look behind him. He tilted his head back to see Lance's hand hovering above him. He put the pieces together. His ears turned in annoyance and he stood up quickly, not realizing his tail was wrapped around lance. When he began to walk off, a deep blush across his face, he noticed Lance following him and muffled laughing coming from the table. He turned to face Lance angrily. Lance put his hands up innocently then simply pointed down. Keith saw his own tail coiled around Lance. His blush deepened as he tugged his tail loose and quickened his pace out of the room.

Everyone burst into giggles.

* * *

"Man! That was an awesome trip!" Hunk stepped out of the green lion, stretching backwards with his arms up.

"No kidding! We found some great herbs to use for cooking!" Pidge followed soon after Hunk and Coran behind her.

"Certainly," Coran twisted his mustache, "That was an excellent planet for plant life. We were able to locate some superb cooking herbs."

Pidge held a small basked filled with a variety of plants. She and the others made their way to the common room. They laid all the different plants out on a small blanket. Pidge began point at each one, naming them and their best cooking purpose. She thanked Coran for teaching it all to her. As she was talking, Keith began approaching the plants, walking on his hands and knees. Everyone froze when they saw him. He was… sniffing. He smelled each plant until he seemed to find the one he was looking form. His eyes widened when he came to one in particular. He buried his nose in it. Then he sat back, picking it up and rubbing it against his face.

This went on for about a minute until the sound of giggling snapped him out of it. He looked at the plant in his hand, then at the others. His whole face darkened, a deep shade of purple covering his expression.

Pidge looked at the plant. "Uh… Galra nip?"

Keith dropped the plant and covered his face.

* * *

"No- Shhhhh. This will totally work!"

"This is so lame. It's not going to do anything but get him mad at you."

"Maybe, but think, it will be pretty funny if it actually does work."

" _Shhhhhhh!_ He'll hear us!" Lance peeked around the corner into the dining room. "Ok. It doesn't seem like he's heard us yet." He waved a hand at Hunk and Pidge for them to follow. They all snuck into the dining room. Keith's back was too them so they had the advantage. When they saw his ears flick, they all froze. When he went back to eating, they continued. Lance slowly slid a large green vegetable next to Keith on the table. - They had found this vegetable on the planet they found all the herbs on. It has a striking resemblance to an Earth cucumber. Lately, they had been watching some YouTube videos from earth (thanks to Pidge's genius) of cats being scared of cucumbers. That's when the idea struck Lance. - After he got the space cucumber on the table, they all snuck out of the room and watched from a distance.

Keith finished eating his lunch. When he made to get up, the three paladins held their breath …but he sat right back down, never noticing the offending item next to him. They all let out their breath. Keith finished off his drink and made to stand up again. They held their breath. He sat back down. They all groaned silently, growing impatient.

"What are you guys doing?" Shiro suddenly showed up behind them.

The three jumped and turned around with their fingers on their lips, but it was too late. Keith heard them.

Keith turned to see the four of them. "Oh. Hey guys. What's up?"

Shiro looked completely confused as to why there was a 'cucumber' on the table. "Uh…" He pointed to it.

Keith looked at what he was pointing to. What came next will never be forgotten… by _any_ of them.

" _What the fu-"_ Keith jumped five feet in the air, knocking over his chair. He backed up against the wall behind him before realizing what it actually was. He shot an angry, unforgiving glare to the four hysterically laughing paladins. He growled, baring his large fangs. "LANCE!"

Lance suddenly stopped, eyes wide as an angry Galra came rushing toward him. He turned and ran. "Why are you coming after me?! I wasn't the only one!"

"I don't care! I'm sure it was your idea! I. AM. NOT. A. FUCKING. CAAT!"

"Guys! Heeellpp!" The others heard Lance's voice from down the hall. They were already on the floor, still laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! Bonus fluff chapter! Told you I had a surprise! Hope you all enjoy this little bit, 'cause it will probably be a little while before I post the sequel. Well… Until the next story,  
> NyteXade


	26. Author's Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, 
> 
> Don't get your hopes up, this isn't a new chapter or anything. I'm just trying to give everyone an update on the sequel. Promise I haven't forgotten about it. I've got so many notes on it that I feel like it going to be really good… (at least I hope it is) I've been planning this story out, anytime I think of something or come up with an idea, I jot it down, so I've got a lot! I'm still in the planning phase, but it is coming!
> 
> As of right now, I am trying to finish my story He is the Moon. If you haven't read it yes, you should check it out! Fair warning, it is a Klance fic. I feel like it's going pretty well, at least I hope. I haven't gotten as many reviews on it as I had hoped, but the ones I do get are good. :) As soon as He is the Moon is completed I will be working on the sequel to Violet Transformation. The title is still a work in progress but as of right now it is Zarkon's Greatest Soldier. So I figured, for the fun of it, I'd give you guys a preview of the story. This is a WIP scene and not a final draft, but here it is:

Keith stared at the mirror on his wall, an unfamiliar face looking back at him. His skin was pale and his ears were small and round. It felt odd. He rotated his hand in front of him, observing its new appearance. His claws didn't even seem to be claws at all. They were somewhat dull, more like… fingers? He looked behind him, his tail was still swaying nervously back and forth. _Still couldn't hide that?_ he thought, _guess I still need some work_. His tail drooped and he turned back to face the mirror. His eyes… they were now a greyish-purple color, but they also had shape to the, pupils, while normally they were a solid golden color. As he ran his fingers through his now raven-black hair, the door to his chambers suddenly burst open and an harsh voice echoed through his room.

"What is _that_?"

Keith spun around, and as he did so, his new appearance disappeared and he was back to his normal Galra self.

"Are you toying with magic?" Haggar finally asked.

Keith averted his eyes. "My apologies, Haggar. I knew I had been having difficulties with illusion magic so I wanted to try it out." He knew he shouldn't be messing around with his druid magic outside of his training with the witch.

"Yes that was a low level illusion spell, but it does nothing more than hide your true self. It's certainly nothing you need to be messing with." Haggar turned back to the door. "Come, it is time for your training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is it! Seeing as I haven't written a whole lot on this story, I've got a lot planned just not a lot written, if you guys have anything you would like to see happen in this story, any ideas, leave a comment. I will try to incorporate your ideas. I can't guarantee I'll use all of them but they usually give me good ideas. In the meantime, check out He is the Moon! Until next time,
> 
> NyteXade


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